Cover From left: Ho Tzu Nyen, Tehching, Amar Kanwar, Ali Wong Kit Yi, who are featured at Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival (Photo: courtesy of Stefan Khoo, Hugo Glendinning, Monica Tewary, Ali Wong Kit Yi, The Chinati Foundation and Judd Foundation)
From left: Ho Tzu Nyen, Tehching, Amar Kanwar, Ali Wong Kit Yi, who are featured at Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival (Photo: courtesy of Stefan Khoo, Hugo Glendinning, Monica Tewary, Ali Wong Kit Yi, The Chinati Foundation and Judd Foundation)
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With the support of Chanel, M+ brings back the Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival for a second year—with a focus on time
After its highly successful inaugural edition of the Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival (AAGFF) last year, M+ is set to host the second edition from May 30 to June 1 this year. The film festival is part of a three-year partnership between Chanel and Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture, that started in 2023. The fashion brand also contributes to the museum’s other film library and restoration projects. The theme this year is Time Will Tell and the festival will feature more than 20 screenings at M+ Cinema, and talks and workshops by high-profile filmmakers and artists.
Last year’s edition focused on the community that experimental filmmakers have built across the region and decades. Silke Schmickl, Chanel’s lead curator, moving image at M+, says this vision continues in this year’s festival, although with a specific focus on the influence of time on avant-garde films.
Above ‘Mud Man’ (2016) by Chikako Yamashiro (Image: courtesy of the artist)
‘Mud Man’ (2016) by Chikako Yamashiro (Image: courtesy of the artist)
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“Time is a critical factor for the moving image as a time-based medium, and it is equally significant for artists working with performance, photography and sound, all of which have a strong relationship with time,” she says. “The theme this year reflects this complex relationship. On one hand, time is something we can structure and organise our lives around, making choices and allocating time to what matters to us. On the other hand, time has an unknown factor that decides many things on our behalf, and we must navigate the different times we live through. Our theme encapsulates these dual notions.”
One of the highlighted artists this year is Taiwanese performance artist Tehching Hsieh, whose work is part of the M+ Collections. “Hsieh created six live works [throughout his career], each lasting one year,” says Schmickl. “These extreme works include locking himself in a cage for a year without seeing friends, watching TV or reading books; and tying himself to another artist with a rope for a year.” Hsieh, now 74, will be at the festival to discuss his work with the M+ curatorial team.
Above ‘Timebombs!’ by Ali Wong Kit-yi (Image: courtesy of the artist)
‘Timebombs!’ by Ali Wong Kit-yi (Image: courtesy of the artist)
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Other notable guests include Amar Kanwar, a moving image maker, poet and philosopher from India who has explored extensively the concept of time through his research into lesser-known histories; and Japanese filmmaker and artist Chikako Yamashiro, who has dedicated the last 20 years of her career to exploring Okinawa and Cold War politics in her home country.
Hong Kong representatives include May Fung, a co-founder of new media arts institution Videotage and a pivotal avant-garde figure who nurtured a new generation of video artists and experimental practitioners; and Ali Wong Kit Yi, a conceptual and performance artist who lives and works between Hong Kong and New York, who will present a performative experience in the cinema with her piece Timebombs! that focuses on the female body and biological rhythms.
Above ‘Begging’ (1970) by Law Kar (Image: courtesy of the artist)
‘Begging’ (1970) by Law Kar (Image: courtesy of the artist)
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Schmickl says that the development of avant-garde cinema in Asia is closely tied to the availability of film and photo technology, which differs between countries. “Our research over the past few years has revealed that many early avant-garde practitioners worked for TV or radio stations, giving them access to equipment through their day jobs. They often borrowed this equipment to create films with their friends,” she says. “Chang Chao-tang, an important Taiwanese filmmaker and photographer, and Rajendra Gour, an Indian filmmaker who moved to Singapore in the 1960s, were such examples.”
While it may appear that avant-garde films may be more widely celebrated in the west—given the long history and popularity of arthouse cinemas and new wave movements in Europe, or the organised co-ops or film collectives in Paris, New York, Vienna and London—Schmickl points out that there are closer ties between how avant-garde film developed in the east and west than people think.
Above Silke Schmickl (Photo: courtesy of Winnie Yeung and M+, Hong Kong)
Silke Schmickl (Photo: courtesy of Winnie Yeung and M+, Hong Kong)
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“Many artists from Asia had the chance to travel to the west and might have seen some avant-garde experiments there. [At the same time,] magazines were an extremely important tool for filmmakers in Asia to learn about what was happening elsewhere [if they couldn’t travel],” she explains.
Schmickl highlights the importance of this festival in Hong Kong, which she calls “a project of love”. “It’s about honouring those who [display] the courage to make such films, even under difficult circumstances,” she says. “These artists demonstrated passion and dedication by spotlighting alternative voices and possibilities, creating works outside the mainstream. For us, as a museum, it is essential to support these emerging and historical voices because they contribute significantly to how we write the history of visual culture in Asia.”
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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.
