We open the brand new 2024 edition with Millennium Mambo(2001), with the hope of stepping into a fresh chapter of the new year together with our new audience and old friends. Millennium Mambo is a Cannes award-winning film and marks the beginning of the collaboration between Taiwan film master Hou Hsiao-hsien and actress Shu Qi. This film poignantly captures the essence of self-discovery and love relationships among the women of the Millennium generation. Complementing this extraordinary opening, our Retrospective programme features another gem of Chinese cinema, "Yi Yi" (2000). Crafted by the visionary Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang, "Yi Yi/A One and a Two" stands as a profound exploration of human nature and a contemplative inquiry into the complexities of reality, securing its esteemed position in Chinese film history.

Our captivating lineup extends into thrilling special programmes, including the rebellious LGBTQ crime narrative, including a rebelling LGBTQ crime film Green Night (2023) by Han Shuai starring Fan Bingbing and Lee Joo Young, a women-themed drama Yang Zi’s Confusion (2023) unveiling fragile and distant bonds in an intimate yet lonely mother-daughter relationship, Pema Tseden's posthumous work Snow Leopard (2023) revealing the bloody conflict among humans, authorities, and animals, and Here (2023) made by the Belgian filmmaker Bas Devos telling a story about a cross-cultural encounter in Brussels.

We take immense pride in presenting the UK premiere of Yang Zi’s Confusion, a debut feature by the talented female filmmaker Jue Li. This exceptional work, curated in the Talented Women Filmmakers’ Showcase alongside "Green Night," adds an enriching layer to our festival, celebrating the diverse voices and narratives that make up the vibrant tapestry of Chinese women’s cinema.