Cover A film still from ‘Prodigieuses’, which will be shown as part of French Film Festival, a major event in Hong Kong’s art and culture calendar (Photo: courtesy of hkfrenchfilmfestival.com)
A film still from ‘Prodigieuses’, which will be shown as part of French Film Festival, a major event in Hong Kong’s art and culture calendar (Photo: courtesy of hkfrenchfilmfestival.com)
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From the French Film Festival featuring Camille Razat of ‘Emily in Paris’ fame to a dance show celebrating Ip Man, there is much going on in Hong Kong’s arts scene in November
Hong Kong is full of art events in November. For starters, French actress Camille Razat, known for starring in Netflix’s hit comedy series Emily in Paris, is bringing her cinematic charisma to the Hong Kong French Film Festival. Meanwhile, Wing Chun, a dance production celebrating martial arts master Ip Man’s legacy, will return to our city after its highly successful tour in China and the UK.
Other major cultural events are coming back to town this month as well. They include India by the Bay, a festival that promotes Indian arts, films and literature; and West Kowloon’s avant-garde dance festival.
One can also look forward to a roster of notable names from the fields of visual art, performing arts and film arts this month.
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1. India by the Bay
Above India by the Bay (Photo: courtesy of India by the Bay)
India by the Bay (Photo: courtesy of India by the Bay)
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When: November 8 to 12
Where: various locations
What: India by the Bay, Hong Kong’s annual, week-long festival celebrating Indian art, culture and heritage, returns for a ninth edition with the theme Connecting through the Arts. This year features a variety of wellness, cultural and F&B events, including a morning chanting, pranayama and yoga session, followed by a panel talk by Ramkumar Kutty, one of India’s most renowned practitioners of Ayurveda, an alternative medicine system rooted in South Asia. There will also be talks by authors and historians on Indian literature and an innovative concert in which Indian classical music meets American jazz.
2. ‘Wing Chun’
Above “Wing Chun” (Photo: courtesy of Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre)
“Wing Chun” (Photo: courtesy of Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre)
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When: November 22 to 24
Where: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
What: Created by Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre, the dance drama production Wing Chun presents two stories: the journey of martial arts master Ip Man to Hong Kong and his dedication of promoting his arts in the 1930s; and a young lighting technician who joined the Shenzhen Film Studios that is making a film to celebrate Ip Man, in the 1990s.
The show is celebrated for bringing together martial arts and dance in its choreography. Premiered in 2022, the show has since then toured to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and London. Its rerun in Hong Kong, which features a local cast, is part of this year’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival.
3. Re: Time and Space
Above Tanz (Photo: courtesy of Ryo Yoshimi and Kyoto Experiment)
Tanz (Photo: courtesy of Ryo Yoshimi and Kyoto Experiment)
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When: November 21 to December 15
Where: Freespace, West Kowloon
What: Freespace Dance, West Kowloon’s annual avant-garde dance festival, returns this year with a line-up of visually stunning performances. Look out for Thai dance artist Kornkarn Rungsawang, who blends traditional Thai ritual dance with AR and VR experiences in Mali Bucha: Dance Offering; as well as Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger, who brings together ballet, stunt work and body horror that pushes the limits and unshackling gender stereotypes of the female body in Tanz.
4. Ruth Asawa’s exhibition
Above ‘Untitled (S.524, Hanging Miniature Single Section, Reversible Six Columns of Open Windows)’ (c. 1980-1989) by Ruth Asawa (Image: courtesy of Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc, Artists Rights Society, New York and David Zwirner)
‘Untitled (S.524, Hanging Miniature Single Section, Reversible Six Columns of Open Windows)’ (c. 1980-1989) by Ruth Asawa (Image: courtesy of Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc, Artists Rights Society, New York and David Zwirner)
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When: November 19, 2024 to February 22, 2025
Where: David Zwirner, 5-6/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central
What: An exhibition featuring pioneering Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa’s art will be on view at David Zwirner gallery this month. The late artist is best known for her abstract, looped-wire sculptures, which are inspired by natural and organic forms that are built on simple, repeated gestures that transform into complex compositions. Born in California in 1926 to two Japanese farmers, just three years before the Great Depression hit, Asawa’s early experiences, especially her time in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, shaped her art. It was her incarceration over two internment camps for a duration of 16 months when she began painting and drawing. The Hong Kong exhibition is the first solo presentation of the artist’s work in Greater China, and will feature works on paper and sculptures.
5. ‘Transhumance’
Above “Bella” (2023) by Ishbel Myerscough (Image: courtesy of Flowers Gallery and the artist)
“Bella” (2023) by Ishbel Myerscough (Image: courtesy of Flowers Gallery and the artist)
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When: November 1, 2024 to January 4, 2025
Where: Flowers Gallery, 49 Tung Street, Sheung Wan
What: British artist Ishbel Myerscough is known for her highly detailed and meticulously observed portraits. Her first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, Transhumance, at Flowers Gallery, features a series of paintings and drawings created between 2018 and 2024. These works explore the nature of life through the vibrancy of youth and subtleties of middle age, highlighting experiences such as coming-of-age and parenthood and themes of desire and loss, as well as more specific instances of feeling invisible as a woman after a certain age. Her subject matter over the past three decades has primarily included herself, her close friend and fellow artist Chantal Joffe and their families.
6. Hong Kong French Film Festival
Above A film still from “Prodigieuses” (Image: courtesy of hkfrenchfilmfestival.com)
A film still from “Prodigieuses” (Image: courtesy of hkfrenchfilmfestival.com)
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When: November 19 to December 10
Where: various locations
What: The 53rd edition of the Hong Kong French Film Festival, organised by Alliance Française de Hong Kong, showcases more than 50 films, which includes 30 new French films released this year. Some of them celebrate women’s empowerment; others are period films and retrospective titles that commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of French New Wave director François Truffaut.
Another highlight is the coming of director Franck Dubosc and actor Camille Razat to Hong Kong. Dubosc will be in town for his latest work How to Make a Killing, a Christmas murder-comedy; Razat, known for playing Camille in the popular Netflix series Emily in Paris (since 2020), will be visiting Hong Kong in late November for her new film Prodigieuses, which is releasing on November 20.
7. Swire Symphony Under the Stars
When: November 16 and 17
Where: Central Harbourfront
What: The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s popular music extravaganza Swire Symphony Under the Stars is back—this year, it will run in two days instead of one. Under the baton of Hong Kong conductor Elim Chan, the orchestra will perform classical masterpieces, including Glière’s Horn Concerto; jazz compositions such as Tsfasman’s Jazz Suite; and crowd favourites from fairytales, such as Beauty and the Beast and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. So bring your picnic mat for an evening of outdoor musical magic.
Those who can’t make it in person can also tune into the livestream on HKPhil’s and Swire’s social media platforms and RTHK’s website.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
