Hong Kong Cinema Shines at Festivals Across the West Coast, Attracting Over 1,500 Moviegoers

HKETO San Francisco champions Hong Kong cinema at Film Festivals in US West

With support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco (HKETO San Francisco), four Hong Kong feature films, ranging from restored masterpieces to recent award-winners, were showcased at film festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle from late April to mid-May. The screenings drew more than 1 500 moviegoers across seven showings, highlighting the enthusiasm for Hong Kong cinema in the region.

Among the classics was “The Arch”, restored in 4K as part of the M+ Restored, an initiative by the museum of contemporary visual culture in Hong Kong that aims to increase the visibility of Hong Kong’s rich cinematic heritage through the restoration of nine feature-length films. First premiered at the 1968 San Francisco International Film Festival, the newly restored film returned to the spotlight as a highlight of the festival’s 2026 edition, 58 years after its original debut.

The Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Mr Bernard Chan, attended the San Francisco screening of “The Arch” on April 30 (San Francisco time). “By sharing M+ Restored films internationally, we aim to strengthen global recognition of Hong Kong’s cinematic legacy and its influence on world cinema, which is a very important part of Hong Kong and Asia’s contemporary visual culture,” he said. In addition to San Francisco, the film was also shown at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive of the University of California, Berkeley on May 3 (Berkeley time).

Another landmark film restored through M+ Restored is “Love Massacre”, a 1981 Hong Kong New Wave classic. It was featured in the Hong Kong Cinema Showcase at the CAAMFest 2026 in San Francisco. The film’s cinematographer, Brian Lai, travelled from Hong Kong to attend the screening and took part in a post-screening sharing session with the audience on May 10 (San Francisco time). He also met with local media at a reception hosted by HKETO San Francisco the day before, sharing insights from the film’s production and restoration, in which he played an active role.

In addition to timeless classics, recent Hong Kong films were also featured. Released last year, “Another World” was among the Hong Kong titles shown at the 42nd Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. This fantasy animated film, directed by Tommy Ng, is the highest-grossing Hong Kong animation to date. To celebrate Hong Kong cinema, a pre-screening reception was held at the Directors Guild of America Theatre in Los Angeles on May 1 (Los Angeles time).

Another recent highlight was “Sons of the Neon Night”, a major crime thriller featuring a star-studded cast of Hong Kong action legends. The film swept the Hong Kong Film Awards 2026 by winning eight awards. It was selected for the Hong Kong showcase at the 52nd Seattle International Film Festival with a screening on May 16 (Seattle time).

At various festival events, the Director of the HKETO San Francisco, Mr DC Cheung, thanked the organisers for their long-standing partnership in bringing Hong Kong movies to the Western United States. He also acknowledged support from the Film Development Fund and the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million

Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs cases in Tseung Kwan O and Hong Kong International Airport respectively yesterday (May 21) and today (May 22), and seized a total of about 21.8 kilograms of assorted drugs with a total estimated market value of about $7.95 million. Two men and one woman, aged between 38 and 49, were arrested.

In the first case, Customs officers intercepted a 48-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman in Tseung Kwan O during an anti-narcotics operation yesterday afternoon. About 3.8kg of suspected drugs, including ketamine, methamphetamine, etomidate capsules, psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA and a batch of suspected drug packaging paraphernalia were found in their residence in the same district. They were then arrested.

In the second case, a 38-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 18kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase and 33 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarette inside his carry-on baggage. The man was subsequently arrested.

The arrested man and woman in the first case have been jointly charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and one count of possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (May 23), while an investigation is ongoing for the second case.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).