I still remember when we used to shoot movies on film,” says To in a statement. “As Hong Kong directors are enjoying more opportunities in mainland China, the awareness for ‘Hong Kong movies’ seems to have waned over the years. But that was admittedly To’s point: it’s a film. If there’s a knock on the film, it’s that it’s a celebration of the past – and of past filmmakers. Now, after much delay, home audiences will finally get a look at the curious collection in Septet when it opens on July 28. It languished through most of that year, then was confronted head-on by the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2022. It was slated for a release after festival screenings in Busan and Tokyo in 2020, and at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2021. Originally titled Eight & a Half, Septet: The Story of Hong Kong has been a long time coming. “Each segment would be a special melody imprinted with the director’s feelings for Hong Kong,” said the press kit. The idea was to round up some of the Hong Kong film industry’s most revered filmmakers, embrace their distinct styles and voices, and compose a collective portrait of the city during each decade from the 1950s to beyond the 2020s. Five years ago, before protests, before national security and before Covid, director, producer, and Milkyway Image founder Johnnie To decided he wanted to create a symphony of stories for Hong Kong.
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