Silver screen exhibition marks Hong Kong Film Archive’s silver jubilee
Long before K-dramas, Japanese anime and Bollywood movies became instruments of modern soft power, Hong Kong films were the leading Asian force on the big screen. In the 1980s and 90s – the golden age of Hong Kong cinema – the city was the world’s third-largest film producer, with more than 200 rele
By David Ho
Long before K-dramas, Japanese anime and Bollywood movies became instruments of modern soft power, Hong Kong films were the leading Asian force on the big screen.
In the 1980s and 90s – the golden age of Hong Kong cinema – the city was the world’s third-largest film producer, with more than 200 releases annually, and the second-largest film exporter. But there’s a lot more to our cinematic history, which stretches all the way back to the “flickers” of the 20s.
To mark its 25th anniversary, the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) is celebrating with a special exhibition. Held at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin until March 29, 2027, this in-depth showcase features artefacts that span a century, beginning with the 1926 silent film Join the Army and Live, to offer a curation “of notable historical and cultural significance, inviting visitors to revisit the golden age of the screen”.
At the entrance, attendees are greeted with a photo tunnel of Hong Kong movie stars while inside, a sequence of historical trailers details the development of local films. Also on display are impressive set costumes from yesteryear that highlight the artistry that goes into filmmaking, including outfits worn by Li Lihua in Red Rose, the Songstress (1952) and Zhang Ziyi in the 2004 wuxia film House of Flying Daggers.
This section also features historical records related to film costumes, detailing how the HKFA acquires, restores and preserves them.
Awards received by industry figures are collected in the Hall of Honours, dating from as early as 1958’s Silver Sail for Best Actor, won by Kwan Shan at the Locarno International Film Festival for The True Story of Ah Q, to William Chang Suk-ping’s Best Film Editing gong for Sons of the Neon Night at the 2025 Hong Kong Film Awards.
The exhibition also includes reflections from local filmmakers. From a selection of more than 100 clips is one featuring Tsui Hark, who talks about how he rejected the opinions of others to cast actress Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia as Dongfang Bubai, in Swordsman II (1992), the character being a male in the original novel. Lin’s performance became legendary for blurring the lines between sex, gender and power.
Among the show’s interactive installations is the Galaxy Station, which offers photo ops with images of movie stars from various eras (all frozen in time at 25 years young), and a poster wall, where classic film posters are mixed with neon-light signs of film titles.
“Hong Kong Film Archive Stories: Treasure Hunting for 25 Years” allows visitors to relive a golden age and much more, but sometimes, it’s better to let the films speak for themselves. Showing through to November are complimentary screenings of eight restored films at the museum’s first-floor theatre. Features include a restored version of Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom (1959), The Secret (1979) and Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983). Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Don’t forget the popcorn.
“Hong Kong Film Archive Stories: Treasure Hunting for 25 Years”. Until March 29, 2027. Hong Kong Heritage Museum, 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. Free admission