Fantasia opening with ‘Ip Man,’ HK film centennial

The 13th annual Fantasia Film Festival kicked into high gear yesterday with an opening press conference at Montreal’s Cinémathèque Québécoise. Festival programmers announced the line-up of films, guests, and events, as well as screened trailers of some of the 115 feature-length films that will be shown at this year’s edition of Fantasia, which runs from July 9th to July 29th. Screenings will again take place at Concordia’s Hall Theater and DeSeve.

For the uninitiated, the Fantasia Festival is based out of Montreal, Quebec, and features films in a variety of genres from the world over. Traditionally, Asian cinema is at the fore at Fantasia and the tradition continues this year with the screening of over 50 Asian films. Of particular emphasis this July is the celebration of the centenary of the Hong Kong film industry; 2009 marks 100 years since the release of the first narrative film in the former British colony. To celebrate the occasion, the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office of Canada will be organizing “Hong Kong Night Fantasia – 100 years,” beginning with a cocktail party, followed by a screening of Peter Chan’s film THE WARLORDS, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

THE WARLORDS is inspired by the classic Chang Cheh film BLOOD BROTHERS, starring Ti Lung, David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai. The film is a war epic set in the 1860s and is about three sworn brothers and their rise through the ranks of the Qing army. THE WARLORDS won best picture at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards and this will be the film’s Canadian premiere.

Another Chinese martial arts epic, IP MAN, directed by Wilson Yip and starring Donnie Yen, will be shown on the opening night of Fantasia. IP MAN is the winner of the 2009 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film and will be making its Canadian premiere as well. A semi-biographical film in a similar vein as Jet Li’s Fearless, IP MAN is based on the life of the Wing Chun master of the same name, and centers on the events surrounding the Japanese occupation of the Chinese city of Foshan during the 1930s. Fantasia audiences may recognize IP MAN co-star Hiroyuki Ikeuchi from KARAOKE TERROR, which showed at Fantasia in 2005.

Other films from Hong Kong and China showing at Fantasia include the much talked about and anticipated COWEB, directed by Xiong Xin-xin and starring Sam Lee, Kane Kosugi, Cheung Siu-fai, Mike Moller, and actress Jiang Lu-xia in the lead role. COWEB is the story of a young martial arts instructor (Jiang) who is implicated in a mob kidnapping and it’s up to her to save her kidnapped boss and his wife. At 23 years old, and being a martial arts practitioner since the age of five, Jiang Lu-xia is poised to take the martial arts community by storm. If the name of her co-star, Kane Kosugi, sounds familiar it’s because he is the son of Japanese actor Sho Kosugi. COWEB has garnered positive press and good buzz.

Jacky Wu Jing’s directorial debut, LEGENDARY ASSASSIN, will make its North American premiere at Fantasia 2009. In addition to directing, Wu Jing stars in the lead and shares directing duties with Nicky Li, action director of INVISIBLE TARGET and FATAL CONTACT, which also stars Wu Jing. Singer Celina Jade makes her screen debut in this film about a mysterious stranger trapped on an island, who is hunted by gangsters and tracked by the police. Fans of Shaw Brothers films might recognize actress Kara Hui in an extended cameo role.

Fans of Jonnie To’s Milkyway films should enjoy the PTU spin-off TACTICAL UNIT: COMRADE IN ARMS. Johnnie To steps out of the director’s chair for this sequel and makes way for perennial assistant director Law Wing-cheong. Milkyway regulars Simon Yam and Maggie Siu star in this police drama/thriller. Fans may also recognize Siu from her several TVB roles, including playing alongside Yuen Biao in the series REAL KUNG FU. TACTICAL UNIT: COMRADE IN ARMS will be making its Canadian Premiere.

CRAZY RACER could shape up to be the sleeper hit of Fantasia. The hype around the film is that its one if the best comedies to come out of China in recent years. CRAZY RACER is a mainland production and is produced by pop idol/actor Andy Lau. The film’s director, Ning Hao has received favorable comparisons to Guy Ritchie and CRAZY RACER has been compared to SNATCH, insomuch as it is a wild caper comedy. With multiple interweaving plotlines, CRAZY RACER is about a bicyclist who tests positive for performance enhancing drugs and gets entangled in a series of botched crimes. The film also goes under the title of SILVER MEDALIST. Fans looking for reviews and further info would be advised to search under both titles. The movie stars the up and coming Huang Bo and ISLAND OF FIRE’s Jack Kao. CRAZY RACER is the follow-up to Ning Hao’s popular CRAZY STONE (2006)

To further honor the centenary of Hong Kong cinema, a selection of vintage trailers, including some Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest trailers unavailable on DVD, will be screened before all of the Hong Kong features. The features and trailers were selected by Fantasia Programmer, King-Wei Chu.

The 2009 Fantasia Film Festival runs from July 9 through July 27 in Montreal. Check out the official site for a complete list of festival programming and film screenings.

Tags: Coweb (2009), film festival, Ip Man (2008), Legendary Assassin (2008), The Warlords (2007)