【Hong Kong Arts Centre】Organised by the Hong Kong Arts Centre and sponsored by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the 20th ifva Awards Presentation Ceremony was successfully held last Saturday (21st March) at the agnès b. Cinema of Hong Kong Arts Centre. 15 awards were presented for 4 short film categories with attending guests of honour including Yuni Hadi, director of Ilo Ilo; Wong Sau-ping Adam, director of The Way We Dance; Mable Cheung, director-screenwriter in Hong Kong;arumimihifumi, multi-talented artist; New Youth Barber Shop, local indie pop band; Mable Ho, Head of Film Programmes of Leisure and Cultural Services Department; Ronald Kan, Member of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Arts Centre; Teresa Kwong, Assistant Programme Director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre; Kattie Fan, ifva Director and other distinguished sponsors. A total of 1,133 participants joined the competition this year.
+++
Open Category: 32 and 4 — Naked Truth Behind Daily Family Life
32 and 4 by Chan Hau-chun has won the Gold Award of Open Category this year. The director spent her childhood living apart from her family. Knowing very little about its history, she decided to face her parents with her camera when she graduated from college, in search of clues about her family’s past. Jury memberVincent Chui said, “Recoding her own relatives in front of the camera, Chan revealed her family lives in layers after layers – and the resulting tension is even more dramatic than that of a film.”
Youth Category: Someone Who Waits For Sunset — Sparks of Youth, Lights and Shadows
Gold Award of the Youth Category, Someone Who Waits For Sunset started out with an introverted youth who is passionate about photography, turning a typical story of boy-meets-girl into a beautiful ballad of youth. The directors, Tang Ka-huen, Kong Ming-sum, Leung Pui-man, Luo Zhi-ji, intended to show the subtle interrelationship between the characters and their influence over one another. As jury member Adam Wongexplained, “The writing, directing and acting are perfectly executed in this short film. The directors unfolded the story in a smooth and thorough manner, and successfully bring out the texture and atmosphere of school life.” The ifva Enthusiastic Awards for schools with the greatest number of participating entries was presented to HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity.
Animation Category: Disposition — Story of Hunter and the Beast
Gold Award of the Animation Category, Disposition, tells the story of M the hunter. A gigantic creature has eventually put him into a life-threatening situation and a dilemma. Creator Mak Siu-fung has confessed to his love-hate relationship with computers, a machine which ruled out his chance of becoming a full-time comic artist, yet gave him plentiful help to produce an animation all by himself. Jury member Yung Kwok-yin said, “Both the protagonist and its creator are tenacious, otherwise they would not be able to overcome all these hurdles and accomplish such challenges.”
Asian New Force Category: The Baby — Family and Society as chains on women
Iranian director Ali Asgari began an impromptu piece unexpectedly with The Baby, spotlighting on issues surrounding womanhood. Through a simple but intense story, he strives to demonstrate how various aspects of life from authority, society to family impose their limitations upon women. Jury member Ying Liangdescribed the work as pulling the heartstrings. “Within an intense time and space, the work in its documentary style and open-ended storyline successfully develops its critical viewpoint and addresses its concerns towards women.”
Media Art Category: Double Silver Awards — APHASIA — Story of 4 Women across 130 Years; The Fading Piece — Faces of Kwun Tong Now and Then
Accepting entries from outside Hong Kong and in all Asian countries for the first time, the Media Art Category has announced its list of winners at the CINEMA 2.0: Media Art Exhibition: HARD CINEMA Opening Ceremony on 10th February.
Local work The Fading Piece was awarded the Silver Award and Best Local Work Award. It took artist Lau Ching-wa half a year to finish, using pictures and brushstrokes to document the changes of Kwun Tong under urban renewal. Another Silver Award went to APHASIA by Huang Yin-tzu, which drew attention to Taiwan’s fragmented political identity and changes of language and culture, echoing the local conditions of Hong Kong audiences.
+++
The ifva Festival successfully concluded after over one and a half months of celebrations, including 12 sessions of “Indie is…” Hong Kong Independent Short Films 1995 – 2014 free screenings, CINEMA 2.0: Hard Cinema Media Art Exhibition cum 20th ifva Awards Media Arts Category Finalist Exhibition all through February and March. Call for Entries of the 21st ifva Awards soon to be announced!
The 20th ifva Festival
Organiser: Hong Kong Arts Centre
Sponsor: Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Enquiry: [email protected] / 2824 5329
Website: www.ifva.com
© Liana Technologies