Weekend Warrior: November 8-10

A quick digest of the coolest weekend happenings in Hong Kong.


Friday, November 8

Berlin Cinema

Catch some of the best films depicting post-war and modern-day Germany this weekend. Films on show include Bornholmer Straße (Friday), a tragicomedy that tells the story of events at the Berlin checkpoint on Bornholm Street when Lt. Col. Harald Jäger of the GDR troops opens the crossing on November 9, 1989; Goodbye Lenin (Saturday), another tragicomedy about boy whose mom, a loyal communist party member, falls into a coma shortly before the November Revolution and wakes up after the fall of the Berlin Wall, leaving Alex to go to great lengths to pretend communism hasn’t fallen in Berlin; and Run Lola Run, a highly stylized freakout of a film in which a woman finds herself in a race against time after her boyfriend tells her he’ll be killed if she doesn’t deliver a bag full of cash to a gangster by noon.

7:30pm to 9:30pm at, JC Cube, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. HK$120 (adults) HK$60 (concessions).

Beyond Stereotypes: Ethnic Minority Voices in Present Day HK

Hong Kong is often referred to as “Asia’s world city,” and solidarity with Hong Kong’s ethnic minority community was one of the main themes at a protest last month, but that doesn’t change the fact that many ethnic minority groups here are routinely marginalized and discriminated against.

This free talk will feature two activists — one from Christian Action, an organization providing support to asylum seekers, and the other from African Community Hong Kong, which promotes community cohesion between African immigrants and Hongkongers — talking about their experiences as ethnic minorities living in Hong Kong, the changes they’ve seen in Hong Kong over the past five years, and how to build bridges that will help people move beyond stereotypes.

Following the talk, there will be a dinner (you will have to pay for yourself) with the speakers. Entry is free but space is limited, so arrive early if you want to secure a space.

7pm to 8:30pm at, Lecture Hall, G/F, Hong Kong Museum of History, 100 Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Free.

Hong Kong International Literary Festival Opening

Last year’s Hong Kong International Literary Festival was marred by of controversy when an exiled Chinese writer had his talks canceled. This year’s festival will focus on identity, migration, and dystopia in literature from around the world, and features a number of prominent writers, and workshops.

This is your last chance to catch this festival, which this weekend will include talks with Pico Iyer, a Japan-based travel writer whose book Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells is an autobiographical account of the year after Iyer’s father-in-law suddenly died; Matthew Polly, a journalist and author who will be talking about the research involved with his latest book Bruce Lee: A Life; and Frank Dikötter, a historian and humanities professor at the University of Hong Kong, whose new book How to Be a Dictator examines the ways eight modern dictators developed and sustained a cult of personality and turned free-thinking citizens into subservient sycophants.

For more information about the festival and the writers taking part, click here.

Until Sunday, November 10, at multiple locations.

20th Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival

This festival brings a number of Jewish-themed features, documentaries, and shorts from around the world, and is a great way to get to know Jewish culture, history, and art.

This is the last weekend to catch this festival, and films on show include Noble Savage, a dark Israeli film and modern Greek tragedy about a troubled teen whose efforts to unite his broken family spin out of control; the comede Back to Maracanã, about three generations of one family who go on a trip to Brazil to watch the 2014 Brazil World Cup; and Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, a US documentary about the origin story of one of the most beloved Broadway musicals of all time, Fiddler On the Roof.

11am to 11pm at, Asia Society, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty. HK$100 (adults) HK$90 (students and seniors).

Let’s Talk, Let’s Dance: A Depression and Suicide Fundraiser

Dance to great music for a great cause at Eaton Hotel’s music venue Terrible Baby. All DJ booking fees and any donations from the event will go to Samaritans HK, a free 24-hour anti-depression and suicide prevention hotline for people in Hong Kong. The DJ line-up will comprise of Simtub (Simon Ng), Electric Mirage (Douglas Black and Daniel Fowler), and IXA (Matt “ManOne” Rudge).

6pm to 1am at, Terrible Baby, 4/F, Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Free.

Pattern Printing with Pardini Prints

If you’ve always wanted to learn to create your own unique geometric patterns and designs, Michelle from Pardini Prints will be teaching you how to make them. Workshop materials and tools will be provided, and you get to take home a hand-carved stamp, extra rubber to carve more stamps of your own, a craft knife, and a notebook and cards for you to decorate. A maximum of 12 participants for this class.

7pm to 9pm at, Bizzie Bee, H307, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central. HK$200.

The Hong Kong French Film Festival 2019

The Alliance Française de Hong Kong will be presenting the 48th edition of the Hong Kong French Film Festival, which will screen over 40 films across two categories: Retrospective, which celebrates the French New Wave of the 1950s and 60s; and French Cinepanorama, which highlights some of the best new French film releases of the year.

Films on show this weekend include Cleo from 5 to 7, about an arrogant pop star who has two hours to kill as she waits for the results of a biopsy to see if she has cancer; and The Sign Of Leo about a musician who believes he has inherited a fortune, only to discover it has gone to a cousin.

Until Tuesday, December 10 at, Various locations. HK$80 and upwards.

City of Darkness by Greg Girard & Ian Lambot

Blue Lotus Gallery will present this exhibition featuring photographs of the famous and long-gone Kowloon Walled City by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot. For more than 50 years, the walled city was a source of fascination for observers; it began as a squatter settlement, and later became known as the most densely populated place on earth, a lawless labyrinth where crime, commerce, and community co-existed.

Nearly 30 years on from the Walled City’s demolition — Kowloon Walled City Park now sits in its place — this project will offer a unique insight into the people who lived there.

11am to 6pm until Sunday, December 8 at, Blue Lotus Gallery, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Free.


Saturday, November 9

Artist Talk with Ian Lambot

If you are planning on visiting, or have already visited, the City of Darkness exhibition (see above), one of the photographers, Ian Lambot, will also be at the gallery to give a talk about the book and the Kowloon Walled City itself.

4pm to 6pm until Sunday, December 8 at, Blue Lotus Gallery, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Free.

Louise Nevelson & Yin Xiuzhen

Louise Nevelson is an American sculptor known for creating monochromatic wooden wall pieces. Yin Xiuzhen is a Chinese contemporary artist known for her colorful sculptures and installations. Pace will be presenting a two-person exhibition that juxtaposes the works of these two opposites, and explores the relationship between their respective styles of expression. The exhibition runs until November 15, and Yin will be present for the opening reception.

11am to 7pm (closed on Sundays) until November 15 at Pace Gallery, 12/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central. Free.

Isle of Birds Exhibition

Did you know that Hong Kong is home to more than 530 species of birds? One person who tried to capture some of them is urban sketcher Gary Yeung, who was last spotted by the Coconuts HK team sketching the Hong Kong Way, and who is best known for his pen and paper sketches of the city. He will also be hosting an exhibition displaying his sketches of birds native to Hong Kong at this cozy gallery in Wan Chai. Some of the birds Yeung sketched include Eurasian tree sparrows, spotted doves, and a fork-tailed sunbird.

1pm to 7pm at, Part-Of Gallery, 16 Sik On Street, Wan Chai. Free.

Hong Kong the way it was, by Ed van der Elsken

We’re all feeling a bit nostalgic about old Hong Kong these days (and with the ongoing protests, who can blame you?). F11 Foto Museum will be celebrating its fifth birthday with this exhibition of photos of old Hong Kong taken in 1959 and 1960 by Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken. The collection will feature 130 black-and-white photos of Elsken’s 13-month stay in Hong Kong, a city he reportedly once described as “the prettiest of harbor cities.”

2pm to 7pm until February 28 (closed on Sundays) at F11 Foto Museum, 11 Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley. HK$100 (adults), HK$50 (students and seniors aged 65 and above), free for children aged 11 and under, and disabled persons.


Sunday, November 10

From Me to Us: Metalwork Artwork Exhibition

Hong Kong artists Joe Li and Ivan Keung first met each other at a metal-smith training course at university. Years later, the two have reunited to collaborate on an exhibition featuring intricate metalworks.

1pm to 7pm until Thursday, November 21 at, 794729metalwork, S507, 5/F, Block A, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central. Free.

The Age of Robots Exhibition: Novembre Numérique

Alliance Française de Hong Kong will be hosting the third Digital November, or Novembre Numérique, which is a month-long technology and art event. There will be video art exhibitions, artistic performances, virtual reality screenings, a hackathon, and photo exhibitions.

As part of this event, they’re presenting a photography exhibition and forum called AI, Ethics And The Public Good. The exhibition is centered on Yves Gellie’s series The Age of Robots, and each photograph depicts a “mise en scène” where the robot takes on the role of humans in a nursing home.

10am to 7pm until Saturday, November 16 at, TriAngle (DLB 306), 3/F, David C. Lam Building, Hong Kong Baptist University (Shaw Campus), Kowloon Tong. Free.

Very Natural Actions

This exhibition is part of the Emerging Curators Project, and explores the relationship between “an art object and the practice that results in the art object.” It invites guests to explore how contemporary art has shifted its focus away from “art for art’s sake” and towards viewing objects on their own in isolation.

2pm to 8pm (Mon) and 11am to 8pm (Tues to Sun) until 31 December at JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun Contemporary, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. Free.



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