Skip to main content
The King of Wuxia film image, director Lin Jing-jie

The King of Wuxia

Da Xia Hu Jin Quan / 大俠胡金銓

This event has passed

International Premiere

Lin Jing-Jie’s doc is a detailed, deeply poignant tribute to one of history’s great filmmakers. King Hu (1932-1997) was a consummate film artist—a sure hand not only at directing, but also drawing, calligraphy, acting, and other arts. Lin assembles actors, choreographers, critics, scholars, producers, fellow directors, and others who knew and loved Hu; their tributes and analyses form a mosaic-like depiction.

Part I is centred on Hu as an artist, with wide-ranging discussion of masterpieces like Dragon Inn (1967) and A Touch of Zen (1971). Cast and crew members reveal the master’s grasp of film production in its many facets, while directors such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Ann Hui discuss the fully realized films. Part II is more biographical, taking us through a life which took Hu from China to Hong Kong, and Taiwan to California, where his unrealized final film was to be set. Lin’s film is a beautiful tribute to a wonderful man, and a must-see for lovers of East Asian cinema.

 

Presented by

 

Media Partner

Stir Logo CHMB AM1320 logo

Community Partner

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Taiwan

Year

2022

Language

Mandarin

Film Contact
Links
18+
220 min
Documentary

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

The Blue Caftan

Dir. Maryam Touzani
122 min

Richly erotic and deeply moving, Maryam Touzani’s queer-themed film takes us to urban Morocco and into the lives of three beautiful souls. Halim is a master tailor; Mina is his loyal wife; Youssef is the man who slowly comes between them.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Sun Never Sets

Dir. Joe Swanberg
102 min

At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Hanging by a Wire

Dir. Mohammed Ali Naqvi
78 min

The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Andrei Rublev

Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
183 min

Andrei Tarkovsky's vast and vivid episodic epic tells the story of a Russian monk and painter of religious icons 1400-1428, during the time of the Tartar invasions.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Union County

Dir. Adam Meeks
97 min

In this authentically grounded addiction recovery drama, Will Poulter and Noah Centenio are foster brothers trying to get out from their dependence on opioids through a progressive government program in Ohio.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

PULP: What Do You Do For an Encore?

Dir. Garth Jennings
90 min

Always the coolest of the Britpop bands, Jarvis Cocker's Pulp commemorated 40 years of music and friendship with a reunion tour and film, with Sing director Garth Jennings at the helm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Credits

Producer

Hsu Hui-lin, Steven Tu

Cinematography

Tan Heong-song

Editor

Lin Jing-jie, Shih Chien-yu

Original Music

Sky Lee, Weng La-fa

Director

Lin Jing-jie headshot, The King of Wuxia director

Lin Jing-jie

Lin Jing-jie’s work has been honoured at the Asia Pacific Film Festival and the Golden Horse Awards. He received the International Critics’ Week Award at the Venice Film Festival with his 2007 film The Most Distant Course.

Filmography: The Most Distant Course (2007); The Man Behind the Book (2011); Dear Mother Earth (2011); Elena (2014)