The Hong Kong Film Archive presents “Restored Treasures—Film Marathon” to launch its 25th‑anniversary celebrations. This curated selection features five iconic works from film history, newly revived through digital restoration. Screened at the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s newest cultural landmark, the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, the programme invites audiences on a journey across a century of cinema, revealing the enduring allure of film.
The programme brings together local and international perspectives and traces the evolution from the aesthetics of silent cinema to the storytelling of genre film. It opens with The Goddess (1934), a pinnacle of Chinese silent cinema directed by Wu Yonggang. This masterpiece is not only an artistic treasure of early Chinese cinema, but also closely connected to Hong Kong’s cinematic heritage. Its leading actress, Ruan Lingyu, who rose to fame in Shanghai, had ancestral roots in Guangdong. The child actor Henry Lai, who plays her son, was himself the son of Hong Kong film industry pioneer Lai Man-wai. Presented for the first time in Hong Kong in a 4K digital restoration, the screening allows audiences to rediscover Ruan’s deeply moving performance and Lai’s natural charm on the big screen, and to experience this timeless tale of maternal devotion anew.
In resonance with The Goddess is the Hollywood epic Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), directed by the German master F. W. Murnau. Produced at the close of the silent‑film era, the film introduced the innovative use of music alongside the unchained‑camera technique and the visual style of Expressionism. Its profound lyrical sensibility opened a new chapter in cinematic storytelling and has exerted a lasting influence on world cinema.
The programme also includes Stanley Kwan’s Center Stage (1992), a modern classic inspired by the life and screen persona of Ruan Lingyu. Through its sophisticated “film-within-a-film” structure, the work pays tribute to the actress’ extraordinary life. Maggie Cheung’s remarkable performance not only recreates the glamour of 1930s cinema, but also establishes a dialogue across generations, illuminating both the continuity and innovation of film as an art form.
Another thematic strand of the programme focuses on classic works of the gangster and crime genre. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) elevates the genre to the level of epic tragedy, securing its place as an everlasting masterpiece of international cinema. In dialogue with it is The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (1967), directed by Patrick Lung Kong, a pioneering work in Hong Kong genre filmmaking. Centred on brotherhood, the film thoughtfully explores rehabilitation and the social acceptance of ex convicts, and laid the foundation for the “heroic bloodshed” films that later won global acclaim. Presented in 4K digital restoration, audiences are invited to rediscover the artistic brilliance of this local classic.
In addition to the main marathon screenings, the programme features two complimentary special screenings in tribute to the Lumière brothers, pioneers of cinema. Through Lumière! The Adventure Begins (2016) and Lumière! The Adventure Continues (2024), audiences are taken back to the very origins of film, rekindling the wonder and emotion of its earliest moments.
“Restored Treasures—Film Marathon” warmly invites you to embark on a cinematic journey spanning over a century. From the silent black-and-white era to the creative vitality of post-millennial cinema, this more-than-ten-hour marathon offers an immersive passage through time, allowing audiences to savour the timeless radiance of film art.
Special thanks to the China Film Archive for the loan of The Goddess (1934) (4K Digitally Restored Version), and to the Budapest Classics Film Marathon for the inspiration behind this screening programme.
With "Beyond Fantasy" as this year's theme, the LCSD presents the fourth Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival. Over the years, Hong Kong pop culture has continued to evolve through music, images and text, as well as stage and cross-media creations. Shaped by the interplay of inheritance, circulation, fusion and breakthroughs, it has distilled a style that is uniquely Hong Kong. The Festival will continue to join audiences and local creators in crossing boundaries within everyday rhythms, and create warm, resonant and moving works while inspiring the limitless possibilities of pop culture. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.