Screening Events
On April 1st, 2024, a special screening was held at the Garden Cinema in central London to honor the memory of legendary Hong Kong actor and singer Leslie Cheung. Co-curated by Meixuan Yi and Millie Zhou, curator at the Garden Cinema, the event was a heartfelt tribute to Cheung’s enduring legacy in Asian cinema.
The featured film was Rouge (1988), directed by Stanley Kwan and starring Leslie Cheung alongside Anita Mui. A hauntingly poetic tale of love and loss, the film served as a poignant reminder of Cheung’s unparalleled screen presence and emotional depth.
Before the screening, Professor Chris Berry—renowned scholar in Film Studies at King’s College London—delivered an insightful introduction. He reflected on Leslie Cheung’s cinematic journey, his impact on queer representation in Asian film, and his timeless influence on generations of audiences and filmmakers alike.
The evening was filled with emotion and reverence, drawing cinephiles from various backgrounds who gathered not only to revisit a Hong Kong classic, but also to collectively remember and celebrate a beloved icon.
From November 26 to December 1, 2024, the first edition of the London International Fantastic Film Festival (LIFFF) took place in London, hosted at the BLOC and Genesis cinemas. Set in the heart of the city, the festival brought together a bold and diverse lineup of genre-defying cinema from around the world, all under the theme "Celebrate the Extraordinary."
The opening night featured The Killer Goldfish, a surreal and visually striking Japanese film directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi. The screening was followed by a Q&A with the director, lead actress Erika Oka, and producer Takeshi Moriya, offering audiences an intimate look into the creative process behind the film’s eccentric vision.
Among the competition highlights was Dead Dead Full Dead, an Indian supernatural crime comedy that blended cultural satire with the absurd, and King Baby, a dark comedy from the UK that explored masculinity and identity through a surreal and theatrical lens.
The festival also included animated shorts, music video showcases, and a retrospective screening of the 2005 cult queer film Zerophilia, which closed the event on a high note.
As an independent media creator, attending LIFFF was both eye-opening and inspiring. The festival’s daring selections and boundary-pushing spirit reminded me of the limitless possibilities of cinema.
By the end of its debut year, LIFFF had firmly established itself as a vibrant new platform for fantastical, boundary-pushing cinema in London. With a strong curatorial vision and enthusiastic audience response, it has already positioned itself as a rising star in the international festival landscape.