Arts Month in Hong Kong may see you scrambling to make it to all the art fairs and galleries, but let’s not forget that films are also a greatly enjoyable – and highly entertaining – form of art. Scroll on to find some upcoming movie-related events that you should definitely get fancy popcorn for.
Five Films For Freedom 2025
Five Films For Freedom is back once again to celebrate LGBTQIA+ representation in cinema. Collaborating with BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, this series gathers global queer stories each year, and this edition includes work by filmmakers from Indonesia, New Zealand, the UK, USA, and China.
Among the line-up, Dragfox follows the 11-year-old Sam’s struggles with gender identity until they are visited by a fox (marvellously voiced by Ian McKellen, no less) on a song-and-dance adventure. In Wait, Wait, Now!, best friends Alex and Sam raid their mothers’ wardrobes to play dress up, not realising that their parents know what the teenaged boys are up to. There is also a heartfelt documentary titled We’ll Go Down in History about TRUK United, a grassroots football club in the UK for trans people.
From March 19 to 30, these five films will be available for global audiences to watch completely free – simply visit the official website to stream from the comfort of your own home and engage in this global solidarity movement.
Laughter Double Bill: Hong Kong Comedy Film Spectacular
The Hong Kong Film Archive is presenting a film screening programme themed around comedies. A total of 16 classic Hong Kong films spanning the 1940s to 2000s will highlight master comedians across different eras and show how comedy films have evolved over the years. The programme opens on April 4 with The Banquet (1991), which features a star-studded cast including Eric Tsang, Dodo Cheng, Stephen Chow, Michael Hui, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Wong Ka-kui, and Gong Li. As the opening event, this screening will be preceded by live performances at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Other movies that will be shown include a 4K restoration of Feast of a Rich Family (1959), which inspired the aforementioned The Banquet and satirises ostentatious displays of wealth in the nouveau riche clawing their way into the upper echelons of society. There’s also two wealthy sisters who Robin Hood their way through rich men to give to the poor in Black Rose (1965), and the hilarious Justice, My Foot! (1992) featuring the comedic prowess of Stephen Chow and Anita Mui. Lastly, The Private Eyes (1976) is a classic comedy written, directed, and starring the Hui brothers, with a series of humorous mishaps that have long become part of Hongkongers’ collective memories.
Tickets to these films are priced from $60 to $100, with discounts available for LCSD Museum Pass holders and those who purchase tickets for two or more screenings.
The 16th European Union Film Festival
The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) is back in town for its 16th edition with 13 award-winning films that range from comedies and romance to dramas and thrillers. 2025 marks the third year since Russia launched its war against Ukraine, so the EUFF is honouring the plight of the Ukrainian people by highlighting their stories in its opening screening. The festival kicks off with People, a Polish film that follows five Ukrainian women navigating the harsh realities of war while trying to protect their loved ones. Courage, sacrifice, and compassion hang in the mix, while foregrounding the resilience of humans no matter how precarious their circumstances.
Films from Belgium, Spain, France, Czechia, Sweden, and more European nations will also be screened. Some highlights include Two to One, a German heist comedy starring Berlinale Best Actress Sandra Hüller which follows an East German couple who seize their chance for riches just before the reunification with West Germany; Spanish biographical drama I Am Nevenka, about a young female politician who exposes a colleague’s sexual harassment and deals with its fallout; and Hungary’s Without Air, which explores the themes of education and ideologies through the tensions between an unconventional literature teacher and conservative parents.
The EUFF films will run from March 18 to 30, with tickets priced at $95 per movie. Discounts are available for bcinephile and Movie Movie members, as well as children, students, and senior citizens.
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