Hong Kong 2002

THE 26th HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (27 March - 7 April 2002) marked the first time the event was solely organized by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, a statutory body beyond the direct bureaucratic control of the HK government. After absence caused by the recent administrative turmoil, many of the festival's former programmers have returned to their posts, with the aim of giving the festival a new look and direction. The festival also managed to bring off a coup with the help of the Hong Kong Film Archives which organized a nostalgic retrospective of Mandarin film classics made by Cathay in the 1960s titled "Back to Dreamland: Cathay Showcase". The screenings were extended past the closing of the festival. With budget constraints, however, the usual 16-day event was trimmed to 12 days with over 200 films, instead of more than 300. Happily, the quality of films, particularly..