Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong returns for the third time in September, with a delegation of independent filmmakers presenting a line-up that includes premieres of award-winning films direct from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. From September 22 to October 2, 2016, 13 selected films will premiere in Hong Kong, along with forum and panel discussions with filmmakers to satisfy every film lover’s needs. The 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong will showcase 12 narrative and documentary films from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, including films from the U.S., UK and China. In addition, this year’s lineup includes the festival’s first local Hong Kong production as well as the winning entries from the festival’s Short Film Competition for local filmmakers. Themes range from romance and friendship to parenthood and sexuality. These 13 outstanding films are: Swiss Army Man; Captain Fantastic; Christine; Equity; The Free World; The Intervention; Life, Animated; Lovesong; Southside With You; Spa Night; The Lovers and the Despot; Pleasure·Love and She Objects. Full summaries of each film follow below. Opening Film "Swiss Army Man" The Festival’s opening film will be Swiss Army Man, starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, winner of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award (U.S. Dramatic), from director duo Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (aka The Daniels) – Swiss Army Man tells the story about a man going on an epic adventure with a dead body, which is also his last hope in escaping a deserted island. This outrageously imaginative indie hit will premiere in Hong Kong on September 23, with director Daniel Scheinert attending the post-screening Q&A session to meet the audiences. Filmmakers Sharing Other ` who will attend the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong to engage in post-screening Q&As with audiences include: Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic), Antonio Campos (Christine), Meera Menon (Equity), Jason Lew (The Free World), Clea DuVall (The Intervention), Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated), Richard Tanne (Southside With You), Andrew Ahn (Spa Night), Huang Yao (Pleasure·Love), and Nicola Fan (She Objects). New section “World Cinema” to appreciate independent films worldwide To further convey the spirit of appreciating quality independent films from all over the world, this year we introduce a new section “World Cinema” to the program, which includes three films: The Lovers and the Despot (UK); Pleasure·Love (China); and She Objects (Hong Kong). Short Film Competition & Award-winning Shorts With the vision of nurturing local filmmakers, The Metroplex and Sundance Institute organized the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong Short Film Showcase earlier this year, which featured a collection of award-winning shorts, Short Film Master Class and Short Film Competition. A wide range of entries has been received for the competition, and a panel of judges from the U.S. and Hong Kong will deliberate. The most outstanding shorts will be screened during the festival, alongside the feature film lineup. Winners and official lineup will be announced during the opening ceremony on September 22, 2016.

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Panel Discussions & VR Forum Hong Kong & U.S. Directors on Panel The Filmmakers Panel Discussion has become a tradition at the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong, where each year local audiences, indie-film lovers, and fellow filmmakers can meet our visiting directors and hear firsthand stories of making their film, alongside insight on the business side of filmmaking, including funding, casting, releasing and festival strategy. This year, there will be two sessions of panel discussion: on September 24, U.S. visiting directors will be on the panel; and on September 25, we are bringing in Hong Kong directors to join the U.S. directors on the panel. These filmmakers will exchange experience and insights, and compare filmmaking in Hong Kong and the U.S. Both panels will be moderated by Trevor Groth (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival). The rising popularity of Virtual Reality (VR) technology is exciting news for filmmakers, as it opens many new possibilities in terms of filmmaking. There will be a VR Forum on September 24 at The Metroplex, where industry experts and professionals will share their insights on the future development of VR, and how it could be incorporated into modern day filmmaking.

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Screening Schedule: http://hk.sundance.org/2016/en/schedule.php Program: http://hk.sundance.org/2016/en/program.php