Founded by three of the major international film festivals in Asia, that of Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo, the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) has the objective of promoting and developing Asian cinema, its talents and audiences.

With the financial support from Create Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Film Development Fund, the AFAA, in collaboration with the Singapore Film Society (SFS), today announced that the globally renowned Masterclass Series will be presented in Singapore featuring acclaimed Hong Kong Director, Producer and Scriptwriter Mabel Cheung [張婉婷].

Mabel Cheung is an important female filmmaker and one of the leading directors in Hong Kong cinema. Her critically acclaimed “migration trilogy” explored themes of identity, race, gender and culture in migration, and created stories with historical significance. Cheung’s aspirations in film, her various works, as well as her career as an influential director, producer and scriptwriter, will be discussed in detail during the Masterclass.

The masterclass will be conducted in real time in front of a live audience, with Cheung participating via Zoom and moderated by veteran local filmmaker Jason Lai, Co-founder of Oak 3 Films. This special programme will be accompanied by an one-time-only screening of Cheung’s most beloved classic film from the 1980’s, An Autumn’s Tale [秋天的童话] (1987). The film will be presented in its new digitally restored version and in Cantonese for the first time on the silver screen in Singapore. Both the screening and the masterclass are scheduled to take place on Saturday, 19 February 2022 at Shaw Theatres Lido.

Kenneth Tan, Chair of the Singapore Film Society, said: “We are honoured and delighted to collaborate with the Asian Film Awards Academy for the first time, and we aim to build a long-term working relationship and friendship. In over 60 years of SFS’s history, we have continuously promoted the appreciation of international cinema and interaction between filmmakers and audiences. Having Mabel Cheung delivering this masterclass is tremendous cause for celebration amongst all our aficionados, and I am sure they will attend and participate enthusiastically.”

Josie Lin, Executive Director of the Asian Film Awards Academy, said: “It is our pleasure to present the home-grown Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung to the Singapore audience in our first collaboration with Singapore Film Society. The AFA Academy is always devoted to presenting the best of Asian cinema to global audiences and working with Singapore Film Society is certainly one of the best ways we could opt for.”

About Mabel Cheung

Mabel Cheung’s filmmaking career started in the 1980’s with critically acclaimed “migration trilogy”: Illegal Immigrant (1985, directorial debut), An Autumn’s Tale (1987) and Eight Taels of Gold (1989). Two of her most renowned films, The Soong Sisters (1997) and City of Glass (1998) marked another peak of her career. These films are packed with the realities of life of Hongkongers, interlaced with romance, heartbreak and joy. Cheung’s work not only spans decades, but demonstrates mastery across film directing, producing and scriptwriting. Cheung has also been very active at her alma mater Hong Kong University, where she has for many years given generously of her time as a mentor to students and to help foster Hong Kong’s next-generation filmmakers.

About Jason Lai (moderator)

Singaporean Director/Producer Jason Lai is a veteran filmmaker and TV producer, and the co-founder and Head of Content of Oak 3 Films. Jason led the inaugural charge of Singapore’s international light brigade with the country’s first-ever co-production with Europe, including seminal made-by-Singapore feature films such as the Cannes-premiered Here. Jason has directed/produced 5 feature films. His debut feature film, The Road Less Travelled, premiered in 1996 and remains, to this day a landmark film in local film history, a local movie other filmmakers have talked about and drawn inspiration from.

About An Autumn’s Tale

Cheung’s first bona fide hit, the romance An Autumn’s Tale (1987), like her earlier work, was set once again in New York City and depicted the relationship between a young woman from Hong Kong in search of her boyfriend and an older, working-class immigrant who had lived in Chinatown for years. Making effective use of its stars Chow Yun-Fat and Cherie Chung, the film was a major success at the box office and also won many awards, including Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Best Male Lead at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards.

Event details

Date: 19 February 2022 (Saturday)

12:30pm : An Autumn’s Tale Screening

3:00pm: AFAA Masterclass with Mabel Cheung

Venue: Shaw Theatres Lido (350 Orchard Road, 5th/6th Floor Shaw House, Singapore 238868)

Ticketing & Registration

Masterclass

Screening

Mabel Cheung Masterclass is free with RSVP (with SGD$5 refundable deposit)

Screening: SGD$15 / $13 (Students/NSF/Seniors 55+)

SFS Fam members enjoy free screening and priority registration to masterclass

SFS Friend members enjoy SGD$3 off screening and priority registration to masterclass

SFS Members Advance Sale & Priority RSVP: Wednesday, 26 January @ 12pm

Public Sale & RSVP: Thursday, 27 January @ 12pm

About Masterclass Series

Since its inception in 2015, AFAA had first brought acclaimed Hong Kong film director Johnnie To to London and throughout the years, we had presented John Woo, Tony Ching Siu Tung, Fruit Chan and Stanley Kwan to overseas film festivals and local audience in different cities. It was a great success in bringing the excellence of Hong Kong cinema under the spotlight among international film communities, as well as encouraging advancement and development in filmmaking and film appreciation by revisiting classics in the golden era of Hong Kong cinema.

Stanley Kwan Masterclass

Fruit Chan Masterclass

Tony Ching Siu Tung Masterclass

John Woo Masterclass

Johnnie Masterclass (Highlight)

About Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA)

The AFAA is formed by three (3) established Asian Film Festivals – Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo in 2013.  It highlights, strengthens, and develops Asian film industry and culture through the annual Asian Film Awards, and several year-round initiatives for building regional and international audiences such as the Masterclass Series, Film Craft Workshops, Asian Cinerama, Journey to the Fest, Young Film Professionals Training Program, and Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation.

About Singapore Film Society (SFS)

Singapore Film Society (SFS) is the largest organiser of film festivals in Singapore. They have collaborated with a wide range of partners from theatrical distribution, diplomatic missions, academic and cultural institutions to present the best of international cinema in Singapore.

Since 1958, Singapore Film Society has been passionately promoting film appreciation as art and entertainment, with the mission to bridge the gap between art-house cinema and the commercial film industry. SFS is renowned for its leading-edge programming and organisational skills in film festival management and marketing, including the annual European Union Film Festival, Japanese Film Festival, and Singapore Chinese Film Festival.