A Different Brilliance—The D & B Story

Date：12/6/2020 - 30/8/2020 [ Exhibition period extended to 21 February 2021 ]
Venue：Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong film Archive
Seminars: 
12/7/2020 - 19/7/2020 
Free Admission

The 1980s was a prolific era for Hong Kong cinema, not only in terms of the number of films produced but also the variety of topics explored and the profusion of talents emerged.

With the Shaws Empire gradually shifting its operational focus from film to television, the film industry witnessed a reshuffling of the position of its major players. Golden Harvest, Cinema City and D & B became the biggest players of the game, sharing the throne of dominance. After organising a retrospective of Golden Harvest and Cinema City in, respectively, 2013 and 2016, we are turning the focus onto the third giant of this golden period this year.

D & B was established in 1984 by businessman Dickson Poon, who partnered with director Sammo Hung and producer John Sham. Over a span of just eight years, the company produced 67 films. Unlike Golden Harvest and Cinema City, which produced almost exclusively entertainment-oriented films, D & B was marked by a dedication to production and creative diversity.

At a time when the market was flooded with films made with an eye to attracting box office, D & B went against the current to explore an alternative direction of creativity. Many among its roster of 67 films are works with controversial subject matters or non-crowd-pleasers, such as Hong Kong 1941 (1984), about the occupation of Hong Kong during World War II; The Lunatics (1986), a story revolving around people with mental illness; and Silent Love (1986), featuring the deaf as the lead characters. Forward-looking films like these provided inspiration for future filmmakers one way or another.

By putting on display rare artefacts related to D & B as well as taking a look back at the company's development, we hope to take you on a journey through the history of D & B and explore together how the right people in the right place at the right time contributed to the extraordinary success of this company.

Partner Organisation:  Fortune Star Media Limited    

Special thanks to:
Mr John Sham, Mr Stephen Shin, Mr John Chan Koon-chung, Ms Linda Kuk, Mr Shu Kei, Mr Ip Kwong-kim, Mr Norman Chan, Mr Gordon Chan, Mr Chan Hing-kai, Mr Chan Kiu-ying, Mr Otto Leong, Mr Terence Chang, Mr Yank Wong, Ms Mabel Cheung, Mr Alex Law, Mr Kam Kwok-leung, Ms Michelle Yeoh, Mr Alfred Ng Man-leung, Ms Yip Hoi-man, Ms Ni Ling... for offering interviews and providing photos, creative works and other archival materials that made this programme possible.