Septet: The Story of Hong Kong

Omnibus film, composed of short films by seven prominent Hong Kong filmmakers about their home town based on personal experiences, resulting in a collective ode to the exceptional metropolis which is home to more skyscrapers than anywhere else and a Westernised generation more accustomed to hamburgers than steamed rice rolls. Each director tells their story in a different decade of Hong Kong’s history, from the colonial 1950s to Hong Kongs’s uncertain present. Filmmaker Johnnie To initiated the project, finding six peers from the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, including founders of the influential Hong Kong New Wave (Ann Hui and Tsui Hark) and martial arts legend Yuen Woo-ping. Alongside a nostalgic homage to Hong Kong, Septet is also a celebration of these filmmakers and of the original medium: all the segments were shot on celluloid. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)