All about indi
Independent film buffs will be in danger of seeing their blood turn to popcorn butter as the Salento International Film Festival rolls into town. Six little known feature films and two shorts will be screened throughout the five-day marathon, with highlights including the first ever “selfie” movie (eat your heart out HK), a film about the frustrations of Gen X, and Sofia Loren’s latest offering.
What: The Salento International Film Festival
When: Wednesday May 6 – Sunday May 10
Where: The Grand Theatre, 2/F, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon
Price: HKD40-HKD85
A cross to bear
In this fascinating but rather morbid lecture, Prof. Israel Hershkovitz will use the only physical evidence of crucifixion – the remains on Jehohanan, a jewish man put to death in 30AD – to examine the origins of the practice and explain why it was “the most cruel and atrocious punishment”. Cheery stuff.
What: Bones Tell a Tale of Yore: Deciphering the Secrets of Crucifixion
When: 12:15pm-2pm, Monday May 4
Where: Asia Society Hong Kong, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty
Price: HKD470 members, HKD570 guests
Tickets: Here
Love has no boundaries
Let your loins ache for the bittersweet story of love across cultural boundaries as Franz Lehár’s operetta “The Land of Smiles” comes to the Kong for the very first time. The joint production between Hong Kong Opera and Germany’s Theater Erfurt will be conducted by Xu Zhong and sung by an international cast led by Sabina Cvilak, Won Whi Choi and James Price.
What: A Tale of Love Lost between East and West: Operetta The Land of Smiles
When: 7:45pm Thursday May 7 – Saturday May 9
Where: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Price: HKD100-HKD680, half-price concessions available
Tickets: URBTIX
Kimchi Kraze
It’s kind of like Marmite: you either love it or you hate it. If you’re in the former camp when it comes to kimchi, get ready to roll up your sleeves and lick your fingers. Kimchi expert Kimmi, owner of Central restaurant MiMi2Go, invites you to make her own honed recipe before testing it out alongside the Korean festive Bossam meal.
What: No Kimchi, No Korean
When: 3pm-5pm Friday May 8
Where: Gourmei, 15 Old Bailey Street, Central
Price: HKD480
Book: Here
You’v been tangoed!
Experience the sonorous harmonies, intricate melodies and soulful expression of tango, as Seoul-based ensemble Coamorous comes to The Kong. Having met by chance in the South Korean capital, this muddle of international musicians is on a mission with bring both original Argentinean and contemporary tango styles to the masses.
What: Shall We Tango?
When: 9:30pm, Thursday May 14
Where: Fringe Dairy, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Price: HKD130 including one standard drink
Tickets: On the door
Big is beautiful
There’s simply nothing more pleasing to the eye than voluptuous females curves, and China’s leading “post contemporary” abstract artist Pang Yongiie knows it. Catch his striking, fluid and sometimes humorous fleshy ladies, inspired by the female forms of Tang dynasty art.
What: “Sensual Encounters” by Pang Yongjie
When: 10am-6pm, Thursday May 14 – June 12
Where: Fabrik Gallery, 1102 Nam Wo Hong Building, 148 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan
Price: FREE (by appointment, call 2525-4911)
Thieves have feelings too!
A comedy of errors, burglars, lovers and spouses makes The Virtuous Burglar an enchanting and amusing break from the norm. Playwright Dario Fo promises to present a fast-moving thoroughly entertaining show… in Cantonese only. Sorry uninvested gweilos!
What: The Virtuous Burglar
When: Friday May 15 – Sat May 16
Where: Fringe Underground, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Price: HKD10-HKD120
Tickets: HKTicketing
Harmony of contrast
Get twice the buzz with a Hong Kong Philharmonic concert of two halves, led by firebrand conductor Case Scaglione from the New York Philharmonic. The first half will see virtuoso pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet perform Mozart’s 18th Piano Concerto, while the mood will take a dramatic shift after the interval as the orchestra takes on the powerful tour de force that is Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 11.
What: HK Phil presents French Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet in Mozart and Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony
When: 8pm, Friday May 15 & Saturday May 16
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Price: HKD160-HK360
Tickets: URBTIX
The tortures of war
Hear the haunting works of Ivor Gurney – a prolific poet and composer who was much overlooked until he died in 1937 from tuberculosis at the tender age of 47 – in a play written by another creative genius Piers Gray, who resided in Hong Kong. Having lived through the trenches of WWI, Gurney was a tortured soul and spent the final years of his life in an English mental asylum, where this play is set.
What: Ivor Gurney – A Voice Apart
When: 2pm/8pm Thursday May 21 – Saturday May 23
Where: Fringe Underground, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Price: HKD100-HKD220
Tickets: HKTicketing
Art for all pockets
The Affordable Art Fair is back for its third year, hanging the work of emerging artists against household names at the HKEC. More than 130 galleries from across the world will attract 30,000 visitors to talks, workshops and thousands of original pieces ranging in price from HKD1,000 to HKD100,000. Obviously the “affordable” part of this event is all relative, but there’s something for (almost) everyone.
What: Affordable Art Fair 2015
When: May 22-24
Where: Hall 3B & C, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai
Price: HKD150-HKD200
Tickets: Here
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