29 July 2025 (Hong Kong) – Following the earlier announcement of the opening and closing films: Jafar Panahi’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winner, It Was Just an Accident, and Ikeda Chihiro’s Kowloon Generic Romance, this year’s Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival (Summer IFF) today unveils its complete programme, showcasing over 40 films.
In addition to the gala premiere of Ari Aster’s Eddington, Summer IFF features an exciting selection of new films straight from the international festival circuit. Highlighted in the programme are the latest works from three former Palme d’Or winners: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne’s Best Screenplay-winning Young Mothers, and Julia Ducournau’s body horror thriller Alpha.
France’s Cannes representatives at Summer IFF also include Stéphane Demoustier’s architectural saga, The Great Arch, and Stéphane Ghez’s captivating documentary, Welcome to Lynchland. Equally attractive are two inspiring dramas by female filmmakers from the United States: Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind and Eva Victor’s directorial debut, Sorry, Baby.
South Korean auteur and festival regular Hong Sang-Soo’s lyrical What Does That Nature Say to You, Ira Sachs’s Peter Hujar’s Day, and acclaimed Ukrainian documentarian Vitaly Mansky’s gripping Time to the Target are all hot picks from this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. A new addition to Summer IFF is a short film selection from NOWNESS, a global creative culture platform, featuring A Very Straight Neck, directed by Neo Sora and starring Ando Sakura.
The Fantastic Beats section features a diverse range of genres and styles, offering young audiences a broad selection of choices and topical options. Highlights include the spine-chilling horror New Group, the moving coming-of-age drama Enzo, the sci-fi adventure Arco, and the exquisite animation A Magnificent Life. For an intimate look at family relationships or a quiet reflection on urban and human landscapes, Family Matters and Brand New Landscape are excellent choices.
This year’s special programme, Beyond the Closed Curtain – The Cinema of Jafar Panahi, pays tribute to the Iranian filmmaker who boldly challenges the theocratic regime. The retrospective features all ten of his seminal feature films, including his directorial debut The White Balloon and 3 Faces, both of which won awards at Cannes; The Circle and No Bears, which received the Golden Lion and the Special Jury Prize at Venice, respectively; and Taxi and Offside, which won the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at Berlinale.
Restored classics remain relevant today, just as they were when first released. Bahram Beyzaie’s directorial debut, Downpour, is celebrated as a leading light of the Iranian New Wave. Ernst Lubitsch’s One Hour With You and Rouben Mamoulian’s Love Me Tonight continue to impress audiences with their sophisticated charms. Milos Forman’s two Oscar-winning masterpieces—One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus—resonate with today’s sociopolitical challenges in America.
Revisiting Amores Perros and The Motorcycle Diaries, the acclaimed early works of Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu and Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles, offers insights into how these directors later achieved success at the Academy Awards. Additionally, renowned Japanese animators Oshii Mamoru and Anno Hideaki ventured into live-action with their first films, The Red Spectacles and Love & Pop, showcasing extraordinary visual experiments.
Summer IFF 2025 will take place from 13 to 25 August. The complete programme is now available on the HKIFFS official website at http://cinefan.com.hk. Tickets will go on sale from 31 July at all URBTIX outlets. Full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, their caregivers, and CSSA recipients can enjoy discounted tickets priced at $28 each.
