49th Hong Kong International Film Festival
The 49th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) ran from April 10 to April 21, 2025. Louis Koo was named Filmmaker in Focus, with masterclasses led by Albert Serra, Juho Kuosmanen, and Leos Carax. Angela Yuen became the festival’s ambassador, succeeding Karena Lam. The event opened with The Brightest Sun by Tetsuya Nakashima, with Pavane for an Infant by Chong Keat Aun also featured in the opening program, and closed with Dreams (Sex Love) by Dag Johan Haugerud. This year’s lineup included 195 films from 69countries, featuring six world premieres, two international premieres, and 52 Asian premieres. The theme was Dialogue – Conversation of Film, and the official poster, designed by Trilingua Design, highlighted soundtracks and famous film quotes.
Screenings took place across multiple venues, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, City Hall, M+, and iSQUARE. Ticket prices ranged from HK$55 to HK$100. Notable guests included Chinese filmmakers Wang Bing and Vivian Qu, Japanese director Shinobu Yaguchi, and Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng. The festival also included a range of programs such as Masterclasses, Les Auteurs, Global Vision, and Fantastic Beats, along with restored classics.
Awards highlight the festival’s competitive side: the Firebird Awards honored To Kill a Mongolian Horse (Chinese-language) as Best Chinese-language film, Black Ox (World) as Best World film, and Yalla Parkour (Documentary) as Best Documentary. Jing Yi won the FIPRESCI Prize for The Botanist; Best Director went to Jing Yi for The Botanist, Best Actor to Wang Ke for All Quiet at Sunrise, and Best Actress to Wu Ke-xi and Xu Haipeng for Blue Sun Palace. HKIFF was part of Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, alongside the Asian Film Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:07 (CET).