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“Anita,” the biopic of the late Canto-pop queen Anita Mui, led the race of the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night with five awards, including recognitions for the film’s actors and technical achievements. But the best film and best director awards went to action thriller “Raging Fire” directed by the late Benny Chan.

Sunday’s event, which was postponed from its original schedule in April, was the first in-person edition of the awards ceremony after two years of Covid hiatus — the 2020 edition was held online and 2021 was suspended.

The number of films released in Hong Kong has dramatically dropped over the past years as cinemas were forced to close doors for prolonged periods under the government’s Covid measures. As a result, this year’s event was a double edition taking in films released in both 2020 and 2021.

As the first Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony held in...

Raging Fire, starring and produced by Donnie Yen, was awarded best film and best director for late action maestro Benny Chan at the Hong Kong Film Awards (Hkfa) on Sunday night. The ceremony took place at Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, the first time it had been held as a fully-fledged, in-person event since 2019.

Produced by Emperor Motion Pictures, Raging Fire was a rare pandemic-era hit in Hong Kong and China last year, and lauded as a welcome throwback to old school Hong Kong-style action movies. The film took four awards in total, also including best editing (Curran Pang) and best action choreography.

Benny Chan, one of Hong Kong’s most acclaimed action directors, was diagnosed with cancer while making the film, leading to Yen taking over during post-production. In a moving moment during the Hkfa ceremony, Hong Kong...

The New Zealand International Film Festival had to cancel the Auckland leg of its multi-city exhibition series, but will continue in Wellington and Christchurch and other regional stops with a diverse lineup that includes an impressive Asian selection.

Wellington will screen a total of 164 feature films from 51 countries over 18 days (Nov. 4-21) across its eight venues. Christchurch will screen 95 features from 37 countries.

International highlights include Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Zhang Yimou’s “One Second,” and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Oscars contender Jasmila Zbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” Germany’s Oscar contender, Maria Schrader’s “I’m Your Man,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” and “My Salinger Year” also screen. So too does Jane Campion’s U.S.-set, New Zealand-made “The Power of the Dog.” The middle of the festival includes Cannes Palme D’or winner “Titane” and Paulo Sorrentino’s Venice grand...

The London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) celebrates its sixth edition in 2021 with a commitment to diverse, culturally impactful cinema entertainment. After a year of shut cinema doors, Leaff is returning home to London’s big screens with an expanded catalogue to help stimulate the renaissance of cinema and promote cultural empathy.

With cinematic offerings from eight regions – China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam – this year’s programme is an ode to the quiet and independent voices from East Asia. Two international premieres, five European premieres and 18 UK premieres will take place at our state-art-of-the-art venues, Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, The Cinema at Selfridges, as well as the newly opened Odeon Luxe West End and The Chiswick Cinema. The festival is divided into five strands: Official Selection, Competition, Hong Kong Focus, Documentary, and Retrospective.

Opening Gala

The festival opens with a memorial to the late Benny Chan...