The organizers of the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) announced that the Special Programs for this year will pay tribute to the legendary Chinese actress Li Lihua and the Fifth Generation of Chinese directors who made a great impact in the Chinese Film Industry.

Li Lihua (1924-2017) was a world known Chinese actress that made a huge impact in the industry. During her career she made some impressive records in film history, she is the first winner of two Golden Horse best Actress Award and the first Chinese female lead in a major Hollywood production (China Doll directed by Frank Borzage in 1958).

The 43rd HKIFF will pay tribute to her by screening four of her movies; Barber Takes a Wife by Huang Zuolin (1947), Bright Day by Cao Yu (1948), Flower Girl by Zhu Shilin (1951) and Storm over the Yangtze River by Li Han-hsiang (1969).

The other Special Program will be dedicated to the Fifth Generation of Chinese Filmmakers, which lead to a movement of visual experimentation rich in social allegory, giving rise to a new form of Chinese cinema that challenged traditional worldviews and contemporary society.

The festival will screen One and Eight by Zhang Junzhao (1983), The Horse Thief by Tian Zhuangzhuang (1986), The Black Cannon Incident by Huang Jianxin (1985), Yellow Earth by Chen Kaige (1984), and Red Sorghum by Zhang Yimou (1988).

We remind readers that the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival will be held from March 18th to April 1st, 2019. Festival tickets for the public can be booked online (at http://www.hkiff.org.hk) and all URBTIX and HK Ticketing outlets from 28 February 2019.