The film is set in China in 1895 during the Qing dynasty. Wong Fei-hung travels by train from Foshan to Canton to attend a seminar on medicine. He is accompanied by his romantic interest 13th Aunt and apprentice Leung Foon. The situation in Canton is rather chaotic. On one hand, there are protests in the streets against the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. On the other hand, the White Lotus Sect, a xenophobic cult, goes around attacking Westerners and destroying everything regarded as alien to Chinese culture. At one point, 13th Aunt is almost captured by the cult when she tries to take a photo of them, but Wong shows up, fights with the cult members, and saves her.

Wong gives a lecture on acupuncture at the seminar while a Western-trained Chinese doctor, Sun Wen, helps him translate for the predominantly non-Chinese audience. The seminar is disrupted when the White Lotus Sect shoot flaming arrows into the building; Wong, Leung and Sun manage to escape safely. Wong feels that Canton is not safe and wants to bring Leung and 13th Aunt with him back to Foshan. However, just as they are about to leave, they learn that the White Lotus Sect is attacking the Tongwen Guan, a school for Chinese children to study foreign languages. They head over and save the children. The innkeeper refuses to allow the children to remain in his inn because he is worried that the White Lotus Sect will find trouble with him.

When Wong goes to the local government office to ask if the children can take shelter there, he encounters a military officer, Nap-lan Yun-seut, who spars with him to test his skill in using the staff. Although Nap-lan is impressed with Wong's skill, he does not approve Wong's request. In the meantime, Leung and 13th Aunt bring the children to hide in the British consulate, which is under siege by the White Lotus Sect. At the consulate, Wong meets Sun Wen again and learns that Sun and his friend, Lu Haodong, are part of an underground movement planning to overthrow the Qing government and establish a republic in China. Nap-lan shows up with his soldiers and tries to enter the consulate to capture Lu but the British consul stops him. That night, Nap-lan orders his men to disguise themselves as White Lotus Sect members and break into the consulate. After some time, he leads his soldiers into the consulate under the pretext of protecting the consul and arresting the cult members while actually using the opportunity to hunt down Lu. He secretly kills the British consul when the latter sees through his ruse.

Lu disguises himself as Leung and follows Wong out of the consulate, while Leung pretends to be Lu to distract Nap-lan. Wong and Lu are then forced to travel to the White Lotus Sect's base to confront Priest Gao, the cult's leader. After fighting with the cult members and engaging Gao in a one-on-one fight, Wong defeats Gao and accidentally kills him by causing him to be impaled on a sharp end on a statue's finger, revealing that he was wearing body armour. Wong, Leung and Lu then proceed to retrieve a book, which contains the names of the revolutionaries, from a secret location. However, they encounter Nap-lan and his soldiers, and Lu is fatally shot. While Wong fights with Nap-lan to buy time, Lu and Leung burn the book to prevent it from falling into the Qing government's hands. Before succumbing to his wounds, Lu stops Leung from burning the cloth used to wrap the book and tells him to meet Sun Wen at the pier and pass him the cloth.

Wong and Leung try to escape but they are cornered by Nap-lan. Wong and Nap-lan fight using a bamboo staff and a "cloth staff" (a twisted, long piece of cloth) respectively. During the fight, Nap-lan manages to wrap the cloth around Wong's neck and tries to strangle him, but Wong manages to free himself and slit Nap-lan's throat with a sharp splinter from his broken bamboo staff. As dawn approaches, Wong and Leung make it to the pier, where they throw the cloth to Sun Wen, who opens it up to reveal Lu's design of the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag.

Watch the original Official Hong Kong Trailer for Once Upon a Time in China 2

The film is set in Foshan, China sometime in the late 19th century during the Qing dynasty. Liu Yongfu, the commander of the Black Flag Army, invites Wong Fei-hung on board his ship to watch a lion dance. Sailors on board a nearby French ship hear the sound of firecrackers and mistakenly think that Liu's ship is firing at them so they return fire and injure the dancers. Wong picks up the lion head and finishes the performance. Liu comments about the perilous situation China is in, and then gives Wong a hand fan inscribed with all the unequal treaties signed between China and other countries.

Wong is the martial arts instructor of the local militia in Foshan. He also runs his own traditional Chinese medicine clinic, Po-chi-lam, and has three apprentices: "Porky Wing", "Bucktooth" So, and Kai. He meets Siu-kwan, the daughter of a sworn brother of his grandfather. Even though she is around the same age as him, he still has to address her as "13th Aunt" as she is considered more "senior" than him. They have romantic feelings for each other but their relationship is restrained because it is taboo in the conservative Chinese society of their time.

Leung Foon arrives in Foshan with an opera troupe to stage performances. He encounters 13th Aunt by chance, has a few clumsy encounters with her, and develops a crush on her. He also runs into trouble with the Shaho Gang, which terrorises and extorts money from local businesses. A fight breaks out between the gang and the local militia while Wong is meeting the Governor of Foshan in a restaurant. The gangsters flee when they realise they are no match for Wong. The Governor blames Wong for the disturbance, and disbands and arrests the militia members. Wong confronts the Shaho Gang's leader, defeats him and captures him, but the authorities release him because no one wants to help Wong by testifying as a witness in court.

In the meantime, Leung Foon meets a northern martial artist, "Iron Vest" Yim, and decides to follow him. Yim wants to become famous and start a martial arts school in Foshan, but he needs to prove himself first. One night, the Shaho Gang sets fire to Po-chi-lam in revenge, after which they flee and take shelter under Jackson, an American official. In return for protection from the authorities, the Shaho Gang helps Jackson run his underground human trafficking ring by kidnapping Chinese women to be sent to America as prostitutes. When Wong and the Governor are watching an opera performance, the Shaho Gang and Jackson's men ambush them and try to assassinate the Governor and kill Wong. Their plan fails but many innocent people at the theatre are wounded. The Governor blames Wong and threatens to arrest and execute him, but allows him to give medical attention to the injured.

While tending to the injured people in his clinic, Wong meets an escaped Chinese labourer from America who relates his story of how he and his fellow labourers were treated in America. Just then, Yim arrives at Po-chi-lam and insists on challenging Wong to a fight to prove he is the better fighter. Yim leaves with Leung Foon, who was fired from the opera troupe, after he was defeated by Wong but later joins the Shaho Gang instead – even though Leung strongly objects to Yim working with the gang. Shortly after Yim left, the Governor shows up and orders his men to search Po-chi-lam for fugitives. Wong and his apprentices fight with the Governor's men until 13th Aunt, "Bucktooth" So and the labourer have escaped. Wong then surrenders himself and is imprisoned along with his apprentices. In the meantime, the Shaho Gang kills the labourer, abducts 13th Aunt and takes her to their base. "Bucktooth" So escapes and goes to the prison to inform Wong. The prison guards release Wong and his apprentices out of respect for him.

Wong and his apprentices disguise themselves and infiltrate Jackson's base to find and rescue 13th Aunt. Yim engages Wong in a one-on-one fight and again, Wong defeats Yim for the second time in a row, and realises that he has been cheating in fights; there is a small spearhead tied onto the tip of Yim's queue (which Wong uses to tear Yim's queue in retaliation for cheating) at the same time, Wong's apprentices and Leung Foon overcome the Shaho Gang and Jackson's men, and save 13th Aunt and the kidnapped women. Just as Wong is about to board Jackson's ship, Yim shows up, wanting to resume his fight with Wong, and gets fatally shot by Jackson's men. With his dying breath, he tells Wong that "martial arts stand no chance against guns". During the fight on the ship, the Shaho Gang's leader meets his end after being pushed into a furnace. At the critical moment, Jackson takes the Governor hostage at gunpoint, but Wong kills Jackson by using his fingers to flick an unused bullet into Jackson's forehead, and saves the Governor. At the end of the film, Wong accepts Leung as his fourth apprentice and they take a group photo in Po-chi-lam.

Watch the original Official Hong Kong Trailer for Once Upon a Time in China

The Game of Death is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, filmed between August and October 1972, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee, in his final film project. Lee died during the making of the film. Over 100 minutes of footage was shot prior to his death, which was later misplaced in the Golden Harvest archives. The remaining footage has since been released with Lee's original Cantonese and English dialogue, with John Little dubbing Lee's Hai Tien character as part of the documentary titled Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey. Much of the footage that was shot is from what was to be the climax of the film.

During filming, Lee received an offer to star in Enter the Dragon, the first kung fu film to be produced by a Hollywood studio (Warner Bros.), and with a budget unprecedented for the genre. Lee died of cerebral edema before the film's release. At the time of his death, he had made plans to resume the filming of The Game of Death. After Lee's death, Enter the Dragon director Robert Clouse was enlisted to finish the film using two stand-ins; it was released in 1978 as Game of Death, five years after Lee's death, by Golden Harvest.

The story of Lee's original 1972 film involves Lee's character, in order to save his younger sister and brother, joining a group of martial artists who are hired to retrieve a stolen Chinese national treasure from the top floor of a five-story pagoda in South Korea, with each floor guarded by martial artists who must be defeated while ascending the tower. The 1978 film's plot was altered to a revenge story, where the mafia attempts to kill Lee's character, who fakes his death and seeks vengeance against those who tried to kill him. The final part of the film uses some of Lee's original film footage, but with the pagoda setting changed to a restaurant building, where he fights martial artists hired by the mafia in an attempt to rescue his fiancée Ann Morris (played by Colleen Camp). This revised version received a mixed critical reception but was commercially successful.

It was an influential film that had a significant cultural impact. The original version's concept of ascending a tower while defeating enemies on each level was highly influential, inspiring numerous action films and video games. The film is also known for Lee's iconic yellow-and-black jumpsuit as well as his fight scene with NBA player and student Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, both of which have been referenced in numerous media.

Watch the Official Trailer for The Game of Death

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse, written by Michael Allin, and starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32. An American and Hong Kong co-production, it premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death. Having earned more than 400 times its budget, it is one of the most profitable films of all time as well as the most successful martial arts film.

Enter the Dragon is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. In 2004, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Among the first films to combine martial arts action with spy film elements and the emerging blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining the martial arts and blaxploitation genres. Its themes generated scholarly debate about the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II. Enter the Dragon is also considered one of the most influential action films of all time, with its success contributing to mainstream worldwide interest in the martial arts as well as inspiring numerous fictional works, including action films, television shows, action games, comic books, manga and anime.

Watch the Official Trailer for Enter the Dragon

The Way of the Dragon (originally released in the United States as Return of the Dragon) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This is Lee's only complete directorial film and the last one released during his lifetime. The film co-stars Nora Miao, Robert Wall, and Wei Ping-ou, with Chuck Norris playing his debut screen role. The Way of the Dragon was released in Hong Kong on 30 December 1972, and in the United States in August 1974. It was the highest-grossing Hong Kong film up until Lee's next film, Enter the Dragon (1973).

Watch the Official Trailer for The Way of the Dragon

Fist of Fury is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after The Big Boss (1971). Lee, who was also the film's action choreographer, plays Chen Zhen, a student of Huo Yuanjia, who fights to defend the honor of the Chinese in the face of foreign aggression, and to bring to justice those responsible for his master's death. It was the highest-grossing Hong Kong film up until Lee's The Way of the Dragon (1972).

The film was produced by the Golden Harvest film production company, still in its infancy at the time, and it was Lee's second kung fu film. The film touched on sensitive issues surrounding Japanese colonialism, and featured fairly realistic fight choreography for its time. It differs from other films in the genre for its historical and social references, especially to Japanese imperialism.

Watch the Official Trailer for The Chinese Connection

The Big Boss (originally titled Fist of Fury in America) is a 1971 Hong Kong action martial arts film produced by Raymond Chow and starring Bruce Lee in his first major film in a lead role. The film also stars Maria Yi, James Tien, Tony Liu, and Nora Miao. Originally written for Tien, the leading role was given to Lee instead when the film's original director, Ng Kar-seung, was replaced by Lo. The film was a critical success and excelled at the box office. Lee's strong performance overshadowed Tien, already a star in Hong Kong, and made Bruce Lee famous in Asia and eventually the world.

Watch the Official Trailer for the Big Boss

The Green Hornet is an American action television series broadcast on ABC during the 1966–1967 television season, starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet/Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato. It was produced and narrated by William Dozier and first introduced Bruce Lee to the western audiences.

The single-season series premiered September 9, 1966, and ran through March 17, 1967, lasting 26 episodes; ABC repeated the series after its cancellation by the network, until July 14, 1967, when The Green Hornet had its last broadcast on network television.[3] With the later success of Lee as a premiere star of the martial arts film genre, the series has become a cult favorite.

Watch the Official Trailer of Green Hornet with Bruce Lee

A Film Series: "Hong Kong Lost or Found"

This film series features the extraordinary works of two documentary filmmakers – Evans Chan (陳耀成) and Chan Tze-woon (陳梓桓) --  who have chronicled Hong Kong's two transitions (1997 and 2020) and major social protests in between. The four films are free and accessible to all online, each for 24 hours. Join us for a post-screening discussion with them in-person or online on March 3 at 9 pm (PST) at UCLA's James Bridges Theater.

Film Screening Schedule:
Feb 10: Journey to Beijing 北征 by Evans Chan
2022 • 108 mins
Cantonese and English
with Chinese and English subtitles
February 10 – Online
Pacific Standard Time: Feb 17, 12am—11:59pm
Hong Kong Time: Feb 10, 4pm—Feb 11, 4am
Ticket reservation: click here

Feb 17: Yellowing 亂世備忘 by Chan Tze-woon
2016 • 128 mins
Cantonese and English
with Chinese and English subtitles
February 17 – Online
Pacific Standard Time: Feb 17, 12am–11:59pm
Hong Kong Time: Feb 17, 4pm—Feb 18, 4am
Ticket reservation: click here

Feb 24: We Have Boots 我們有雨靴 by Evans Chan
2020 • 125 mins
Cantonese and English
with Chinese and English subtitles
February 24 – Online
Pacific Standard Time: Feb 17, 12am—11:59pm
Hong Kong Time: Feb 24, 4pm—Feb 25, 4AM
Ticket reservation: click here

March 3: Blue Island 憂鬱之島 by Chan Tze-woon
2022 • 97 mins
Cantonese, English and Mandarin
with Chinese and English subtitles
March 3
Online Event:
Pacific Standard Time: Feb 17, 12am—11:59pm
Hong Kong Time: Mar 1, 4pm—Mar 2, 4AM
In-Person Event:
7:00PM (PST)
James Bridges Theater, University of California Los Angeles
9:00PM (PST)
Post-screening Q&A (online also available)
Tickets will be available soon, click link below to go to the official page for information

For additional information and times please also visit the Official Webpage

The 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF47) will honour Soi Cheang as this year's Filmmaker-in-Focus.

One of Hong Kong's most stylish and formidable directors, Cheang joins an illustrious and growing list of recent HKIFF Filmmakers-in-Focus, including Sandra Ng, Stanley Kwan, Michael Hui, Sammo Hung and Brigitte Lin.

Returning to its traditional dates after last year's postponement, HKIFF47 will take place from 30 March to 10 April.  At the centre of this year's cinephile extravaganza is the showcase of Cheang's 12 seminal works, the publication of a commemorative book and, in collaboration with long-term festival partner Moleskine, the release of a limited edition notebook.  Cheang will also attend a Face-to-Face session to share his insights and vision with the public.

In making the announcement, Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Executive Director Albert Lee paid tribute to Cheang and said the festival was proud to recognise his indelible contribution to Hong Kong cinema.

'Soi is a key figure among Hong Kong's post-1997 generation of filmmakers and notable for his sombre but unmistakably personal visual style,' Lee said.  'He seldom deviates from mainstream storytelling conventions but innovatively explores new boundaries of filmmaking across different genres, from horror and thriller to action films.  In the stark dystopia he creates, where one confronts moral bleakness and human perseverance, Soi never fails to detect a ray of hope.'

Cheang left his native Macau and joined the Hong Kong film industry at 19, gaining invaluable experience working as a production assistant and assistant director for Ringo Lam, Andrew Lau, Joe Ma, Wilson Yip and Johnnie To.  His breakthrough came in 1999 when he directed his debut film Our Last Day on digital video, presenting a grim worldview that returned thematically to his works throughout his career.

Since 2000, Cheang's talent as a stylish filmmaker gained notice with his breakout Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster and the compelling thriller New Blood.  His steady rise to prominence gathered pace with two harrowing action-romance films, Love Battlefield and Home Sweet Home, which starred Karena Lam and Shu Qi.                 

From strength to strength, Cheang showed versatility, migrating to urban crime thrillers, and produced his most personal and unapologetic works, Dog Bite Dog and Shamo.  Surrounding his characters with corruption and filth, Cheang blurs the line between good and evil, using extreme situations to craft his frenzied tales of survival in startling beauty.

Cheang finally confirmed himself as a purveyor of edgy, extreme entertainment when he teamed up with Johnnie To's celebrated Milkyway Image.  Together they delivered Accident, an intelligent, meticulously-detailed paranoiac thriller that enthrals in both cinematic and thematic ways, and Motorway, which thrills with its abundant style and exceptional chase sequences.  Both films competed at the Venice Film Festival.

Taking up the challenge from Wilson Yip's classic actioner SPL, Cheang delivered an emotional sequel in SPL 2: A Time for Consequences that explores family ties while serving up creative, technically-ambitious action sequences.  With the riveting serial killer film noir Limbo, Cheang provided a complete thematic encapsulation in stunning black-and-white, illustrating a post-apocalyptic metropolis with towering heaps of rubbish and disturbing images of human suffering.  This punishingly bleak vision, which premiered in Berlinale, is perhaps Cheang's darkest and most rewarding to date.

A prolific filmmaker, Cheang also helps nurture budding talents in recent years, serving as a producer for Lau Ho Leung's Two Thumbs Up, Danny Wong's i'm livin' it, and Lau Kok-rui's The Sunny Side of the Street, among others.   

The hybrid HKIFF47 will feature screenings and audience-engagement events, both theatrically in-person and online.  It will unveil this year's programme in early March, including details on Soi Cheang's Face-to-Face session.

Soi Cheang's Filmmaker-in-Focus series will feature the following 12 films:

1999 《第一百日》Our Last Day
2000 《發光石頭》Diamond Hill
2001 《恐怖熱線之大頭怪嬰》Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster
2002 《熱血青年》New Blood
2004 《愛‧作戰》Love Battlefield
2005 《怪物》Home Sweet Home
2006 《狗咬狗》Dog Bite Dog
2007 《軍雞》Shamo
2009 《意外》Accident
2012 《車手》Motorway
2015 《殺破狼II》SPL 2: A Time for Consequences
2021 《智齒》Limbo

Check out the new behind the scene videos:

Behind the scene video 1

Behind the scene video 2

Here is a behind the scene video from the making of SAKRA, Donnie talks about the challenges they had during the making of the film and how he played his character.

Also watch the Official Trailer for the film

Location:Different locations, please check [https://festival.sundance.org/program/schedule/]schedule[/url] for locations and times

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film and episodic storytelling to create and thrive.

Robert Redford founded the Institute in 1981 to foster independence, risk-taking, and new voices in American film. That year, 10 emerging filmmakers were invited to the Sundance Resort in the mountains of Utah, where they worked with leading writers, directors, and actors to develop their original independent projects.

Today, our staff of 180 employees works year-round from offices in Park City, Los Angeles, and New York City to provide 25 residential labs, grants exceeding $3 million, and ongoing mentorships that support more than 900 artists each year. Each January, the Sundance Film Festival introduces a global audience to groundbreaking work and emerging talent in independent film.

In addition to the Festival, the Sundance Institute hosts many public programs in the U.S. and around the world to connect artists with audiences to present original voices, inspire new ideas, and create community around independent storytelling.

Visit the Official Website for more information

Location: Leeds, United Kingdom
Festival dates: 2 - 16 Nov 2023

Founded in 1987 and now one of the UK's leading annual film events, the Academy Award and BAFTA-qualifying Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) primarily supports the work of new filmmakers from the UK and across the world, with 78 countries represented in 2022. We present seven competitions for short films with total cash prizes of £6000 and the Leeds New Directors Competition for feature films.

Visit the Official Website for additional information

Location: Tirana, Albania
Festival dates: 23 - 30 Sep 2023

TIRANA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL is the first international film festival created in 2003 as one of the most important cinematic events in Europe.

We are thrilled and honored to be approved as an official Academy Awards® and European Film Awards qualifying festival, it's truly a tremendous opportunity for our filmmakers and future Best Short Film Award winners also for Student Academy Awards (SAA).

TIFF aims to create in Albania, as well as in the region, a cultural center of worldwide alternative and independent cinema. Albania is a solar, enthusiastic and friendly country and besides the "strong competition" TIFF aims at the same time to be a meeting point of cultures, where people of Tirana, the guests and all those who love films will have a cinema-language-communication week.

TIFF aims to create a friendly space for film artists and cinema enthusiasts from Albania, Europe and the entire world to come together and share their linked passion and knowledge of the motion picture art form. The intention of TIFF is to bring filmmakers, producers and distributors from all around the world to Tirana, in hopes of fostering future co-operation in this interesting scenic area.  By bringing together these distinct voices and their work, TIFF commits itself to introducing audiences to alternative visions of extraordinary diversity.  "Think Different, Watch Alike" is the slogan and motto of TIFF.

TIFF aims to demonstrate strong efficiency in audience development (especially toward young audience) by implementing activities before, during and after the event, including year-long activities and traveling to other cities with various smaller partner and smaller festivals in the country. Partnering with small organizations and youth centers around the country in order to use the existing facilities in each city will not only give to TIFF a large national impact, but will enhance on the other side the increase of values of small events in each respective city in which TIFF will be present.

The festival gets thousands of submissions a year from over 120 countries around the world that of submitted online through online platforms, which are then considered for selection. TIFF is an international cinema event whose main objective is to enlarge the number of venues and time of screening of European and non-European films of all genres and durations in Albania as well as it is considered to be an event to develop new audiences around the country, combining film screenings with public debates and thematic debates approaching new and an increased Film Audience and focusing also on Film Literacy.

The daily program of TIFF combines more than 200 premieres of feature and short films in competition in all formats and genres: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental and video art.  Open to any filmmaker from around the world, TIFF showcases new cinematic work by established directors with international reputations as well as movies by talented students and young artists.

Also visit the Official Website for more information