Description
This module focuses on recent developments in Hong Kong cinema post-1997 to the present. We will investigate and explore different survival strategies, trends, and changes that have taken place in the Hong Kong film industry since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. These changes in the 21st Century have been caused by various issues including economic crises and political factors that have led to a rise in independent filmmaking, Hong Kong-mainland China co-productions and smaller-scale films focusing on local issues. We will continue the focus in the Hong Kong Cinema History module by analysing how contemporary Hong Kong cinema continues to make the city its subject in different ways and within different genres, including the crime thriller, the melodrama, the kung fu film, the courtroom drama and a recent flurry of documentaries. To understand what gets made and how we will also fully assess film censorship and financing. Investigating these issues will further an understanding of Hong Kong cinema against its history of colonisation and decolonisation. We will also consider how Hong Kong filmmakers have responded to a series of historical turning points in the 21st Century, which include the anti-Article 23 protests in 2003, the Umbrella Movement in 2014, the 2019 protests and the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020. Filmmakers we will focus on include Fruit Chan, Johnnie To, Wong Kar-wai, Pang Ho-cheung, Oliver Chan, Herman Yau, Jack Ng, Chan Tze-woon, and Soi Cheang.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
Ìý