What’s it all about?
Kung fu, sex, cops’n’robbers, Buddhist morality, friendship, wordplay & comedy…. these are just a handful of the volatile cocktail of exciting themes at the heart of Hong Kong cinema.
A unique bridge between East & West, Hong Kong is a beautiful melting pot of food, culture & millions of people perched precipitously on the edge of mainland China.
To survive centuries of colonial rule – first by the British and now by the Chinese, Hong Kong has developed a proudly independent culture – and a big part of that has been film.
Hong Kong’s cinematic culture is arguably one of the most prodigious in all of Asia, defined through powerful storytelling, beautiful direction and incredibly talented actors & actresses.
And best of all, its all easily accessible to Western audiences with no knowledge of Cantonese or Mandarin.
What will we cover?
With no prerequisite knowledge of film, the class will be a fun taster of a wonderful cinematic tradition and culture that we are rarely treated to in Australia.
We will go on an entertaining romp through Hong Kong’s best films, hottest actors & actresses and the best-regarded directors of the city-state – with a rich array of short clips from films to bring to life what is being covered, salacious gossip about the industry and recommended movies to impress first dates and excite your flatmates.
Who will be teaching?
Oliver has a long-held fascination with Chinese culture. His great-great aunt spent the bulk of her life as a missionary in Southern China during the early 20th century and his grandparents lead school tours to, and imported books from, the People’s Republic of China. He began learning Mandarin and Cantonese in his teens, studies which he pursued at University. A recent three year sojourn in Singapore lead to unhealthy multi-day cinematic binges of pirated Hong Kong DVD’s sourced from the dodgiest of Malaysian street markets.
Totally unqualified in any form of film theory beyond writing the occasional film review for his University magazine, Oliver is excited to share one of his passions in an entertaining and unorthodox way.