Promising scene

The HKIFF has posted 45 seminars and master classes from past editions dating back to 2013 on its Youtube channel and Wong says viewer numbers have been spiking as people learn more about just who it is they can watch.

"It's hasn't been until now, when we finally have this long list, that we've realised how many stars and interesting filmmakers have visited the festival over the years," says Wong. "Some have even sadly passed away and we are finding that people are going back to listen to them, and then either revisiting their films or discovering them for the very first time."

Among the most popular videos so far were talks given by mainland star Jiang Wen (from HKIFF43), local action hero Sammo Hung Kam-bo (HKIFF43's Filmmaker in Focus), and Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia (HKIFF42's Filmmaker in Focus), the star of many Taiwan and Hong Kong films.