The Hong Kong Studies Initiative (HKSI) Newsletter

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4 February 2025

Hosted by the Department of Asian Studies, the Hong Kong Studies Initiative (HKSI) at the University of British Columbia is devoted to promoting the teaching and research of this most-improbable metropolis, both as an extraordinary Chinese city and as a spectacular international and transnational hub.

ASIAN INDEPENDENT CINEMA SHOWCASE

Vancouver Premiere
Kissing the Ground You Walked On 海鷗來過的房間
Conversation with Director Hong Heng-Fai 孔慶輝

Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025
Time: 19:00-20:45 (Film Screening); 20:45-21:15 (Virtual Q&A)
Venue: C300 Theatre, UBC Robson Square
Address: 800 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 1A7 | Map | Directions

The second edition of the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase (AICS) will open with the Vancouver premiere of Kissing the Ground You Walked On [Synopsis | Trailer], an award-winning film from Macau exploring the themes of identity, art, and desire.

Co-presented by the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative and the UBC Connects at Robson Square, the screening will be followed by a virtual conversation with director Hong Heng-fai. The film is in Cantonese with English subtitles, and the conversation will be conducted in English.

Free admission. Seats are limited. Registration required.

Read more about the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase here.

LUNARFEST@UBC

Panel Talk x LunarFest 2025
Places of Memory in Graphic Novels

Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Time: 12:30-13:30
Venue: Coach House at UBC Green College
Address: 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 | Map | Parking

What is the relationship between comics and place? How can comics tie us to memory, history, and emotion?

Co-organized by the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative and LunarFest 2025, the panel talk "Places of Memory in Graphic Novels" features the sharing by celebrated Taiwanese graphic novelist Mr Ruan Guang-Min and Dr. Elizabeth "Biz" Nijdam (Central, Eastern, & Northern European Studies), hosted by Dr. Helena Wu (Asian Studies).

Event in English. Free admission. All are welcome.

More about the speakers.

LNY Splash Film Program

February 8 - 9, 2025
VIFF Center, Vancouver
Check out more films from the program.

Featured screenings:

Hao Are You?: A documentary directed by Dieu Hao Do
February 8, 2025 2:00 - 3:45pm

Director Dieu Hao Do explores the fragmentation of his family. The American War in Vietnam scattered them across three continents. Nearly 50 years after their escape, contact between the seven family members has all but broken down. How have traumas from persecution and violence inscribed themselves on the bodies and souls of the survivors and their children? After the Fall of Saigon on April 30 in 1975, more than 1.5 million people fled the communist regime, many of them including the director’s family belonging to the Chinese minority there.

The post-screening Q&A will be hosted by Dr. Helena Wu.

Granny Must Die: A comedy directed by Chen Yi-jung
February 8, 2025 7:30 - 9:15pm

An absurd comedy about the daily life of a three-generational Hakka household in Taipei. The main characters are Huichiao, her grandmother Chunmei, Chunmei’s son Fusang, and daughter-in-law Lichun. The story begins on a stormy night when Huichiao quietly approaches and murders Chunmei, coldly saying, “Granny, just die!” As the story develops, we learn that their conflicts stem from not only daily trivialities but also past memories and complex family relationships. Through multiple perspectives and intertwined timelines, the film delves into this quirky family, uncovering each member’s secrets and sorrows, leading to a dramatic escape where the truth finally emerges..

The post-screening Q&A will be hosted by AICS co-curator and co-organizer Jimmy Lo.

SPECIAL EVENT

Clara Law: Drifting Petals, Floating Lives
A Retrospective Presented by the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase & The Cinematheque

January 16 – February 5, 2025
The Cinematheque, Vancouver

The Cinematheque and the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase are pleased to present a select retrospective surveying the remarkable, decades-spanning oeuvre of Clara Law. Curated in concert with the director and Eddie Fong, the six-film program features five titles, all boasting new restorations, plus the couple’s latest collaboration Drifting Petals (2021), a DIY ghost story plumbing personal and political traumas.

Don't miss the chance to watch the following films:

Floating Life (1996)
February 5, 2025 6:30 pm

The Goddess of 1967 (2000)
February 5, 2025 8:40 pm

Click here for more details.

COMMUNITY

Panel
Imperial Entanglements, Global Justice

Date: Friday, February 14 2025
Time: 17:00-19:00
Venue: Harbour Centre 1520, SFU Vancouver

Organized by the Global Asia program of the Simon Fraser University (SFU), the panel will feature a conversation with members of Lausan Collective.

Details: https://imperial-entanglements-global-justice.eventbrite.ca/

PAST EVENT

January 16: Presented by the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase (AICS) and The Cinematheque, "Drifting Petals, Floating Lives," a retrospective of six Clara Law's films, was launched in Vancouver, with the opening remarks delivered by Shaun Inouye, Artistic Director of the Cinematheque, and Dr. Helena Wu, AICS co-curator and co-organizer (photos).

Please kindly consider a tax-deductible donation to HKSI (hksi.ubc.ca/support-us). Thank you, as always, for your support of the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative.