In Search of the Meaning of Poetry:
Ann Hui in Conversation with Huang Canran and Liu Waitong

Details

Type: Talk

Language: Cantonese, English, Mandarin

Audience: Everyone

Location: Grand Stair

Accessibility:

In Search of the Meaning of Poetry:
Ann Hui in Conversation with Huang Canran and Liu Waitong

Ann Hui grew up with poetry. After spending more than forty years in the film industry, she embraces the subject that has always been closest to her heart, spotlighting the often overshadowed stories, states of mind, and daily lives of Hong Kong poets from different eras in her recent directorial work, Elegies.

In this conversation, Hui invites two poets featured in the documentary—Huang Canran and Liu Waitong—to continue the discussion around the essence of poetry, exploring the acclaimed director’s thoughts on the art form. This exploration extends not only to her filmmaking but also to the deeper personal significance of poetry for Hui.

This talk will be held in Cantonese and moderated by M+ Curator-at-large of Hong Kong Film and Media Li Cheuk-to. Simultaneous interpretation in English and Mandarin will be available. Click on ‘Register’ to sign up for free.

Several screening sessions of Elegies will be held at M+ Cinema in November.

Ann Hui. Elegies, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of Golden Scene Co. Ltd.

About the Speakers

Ann Hui (b. 1947, Liaoning) started her film career as a key figure of the Hong Kong New Wave. Her experiences span across genres and her work is committed to realism. Her debut film The Secret (1971) takes inspiration from a real-life murder case, while the award-winning Boat People (1982) depicts the reality of Vietnamese refugees.

Portrait of Ann Hui. Photo: Courtesy of Golden Scene Co. Ltd.

Her work often features autobiographical elements. In Song of the Exile (1990) and As Time Goes By (1997), she reflects on her memories and ponders the arduous search for one’s roots as a speck in the sea of history. She has also shown a deep interest in the stories of the ordinary people in Hong Kong, such as in The Way We Are (2008) and Night and Fog (2009). She has been named Best Director by the Hong Kong Film Awards six times for her works Boat People, Summer Snow (1995), The Way We Are, A Simple Life (2011), The Golden Era (2014), and Our Time Will Come (2017).

Huang Canran (b. 1963, Fujian) is a Chinese poet and translator who moved to Hong Kong in 1978. He graduated from Guangzhou’s Jinan University in 1988 and translated international news for Ta Kung Pao from 1990 to 2014. Since resignation, he has been residing in a rural area in Shenzhen. His poetry collections include Meditation Beside a Swimming Pool (2000), Book of Wonders (2008), and My Soul (2011), which earned the Poetry Prize at the 10th Media Awards for Chinese Literature. Huang is also widely known for his literary translations of poetry and poetry criticism into Chinese, which include the works of Constantine P. Cavafy, César Vallejo, and Susan Sontag.

Portrait of Huang Canran. Courtesy of Huang Canran

Liu Waitong (b. 1975, Guangdong) is a poet, writer, and photographer currently based in Taiwan. He has been awarded several literary prizes in Hong Kong and Taiwan, including the China Times Literature Award, the United Daily News Literature Award, and the 2012 Hong Kong Arts Development Award for Best Artist (Literature). Since his literary debut in 1995, Liu has published poetry collections including Cherry and Vajra (2017), The Cup of Spring (2016), and Wandering Hong Kong with Spirits (2016). His photography publications include Lonely China (2004), In Search of Tsangyang Gyatso (2013), Paris: Photos de Scène Sans Titre (2005), and The Darkening Planet (2018), among others.