Yoko Ono, Bong Joon-ho, Zhang Peili and a whole lot more in indie film festival at M+ museum in Hong Kong

Directed by photographer Wing Shya, the first Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival at M+, Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture, is an indie movie feast

It’s a chance to see offbeat features, video art and themed short-film and moving-image compilations, and join workshops including one on printmaking

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A still from Nick Deocampo’s Oliver (1983), part of the first Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival at the M+ Museum in Hong Kong, which tells the story of a gay female impersonator who stages a provocative performance of bondage and escape. Photo: Nick Deocampo

Published: 5:15pm, 28 May 2024Updated: 10:37pm, 28 May 2024

The inaugural edition of the Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival at M+, Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture, begins on May 30 and offers a diverse four-day programme of screenings, exhibitions, performances, talks and workshops.

The festival offers a chance to view work by figures such as Japanese multimedia artist Yoko Ono, South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho and British-Palestinian multimedia and installation artist Mona Hatoum.

Wing Shya, the festival’s art director and a celebrity photographer best known for his collaborations with Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, says he is particularly looking forward to seeing rare feature films that are “usually hard to discover” and “very off the beaten path”.

Supported by the Chanel Culture Fund, the festival is a place for creators and the general public to discover “more nutritious” works – films, videos and artworks that are rich sources of inspiration – says Wing.

Wing Shya, a photographer known for his collaborations with film director Wong Kar-wai, is the art director of the first Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival, held at West Kowloon’s M+ museum. Photo: Wing Shya

Musician Nnscya will create an experimental soundscape to accompany Wing Shya’s unseen 35mm film photographs in “Phantom Frequencies: An Audiovisual Experience by Wing Shya x nnscya”. Photo: Nnscya

One of his own works will feature on the opening night at M+’s Grand Stair.