The fourth Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival (PCF) launches next month, with this year’s edition adopting the theme Beyond Fantasy to explore “how different forms of creativity interact to shape the unique landscape of Hong Kong’s pop culture.”
The festival will feature approximately 20 programmes and more than 120 events, spanning stage performances, film screenings, exhibitions, library activities, and outreach initiatives.
The festival opens with a two-day concert from 17 to 18 April at the East Kowloon Cultural Centre with Dreamscape, co-curated by award-winning erhu virtuoso Chu Wan-pin and local musician Vicky Fung. The concert blends film soundtracks, pop music, street dance, and art technology, featuring newly rearranged scores from classic Hong Kong films.
Notable guest performers include Phil Lam and Winka Chan from local girl group Collar (17 April), and Tang Siu-hau and Jeremy Lee from local boy group Mirror (18 April). Tickets range from HK$380 to HK$580, and go on sale via URBTIX from tomorrow 13 March.
[See more: The Macau Literary Festival has kicked off: Here’s what’s going on]
Returning by popular demand, the free outdoor music carnival ImagineLand takes over the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza and Salisbury Garden Central Lawn from 25 to 26 April. Daytime attractions include the Go Beyond Concert featuring local talents and singers from mainland China and Thailand, as well as a Cantopop Party with DJ Deanz. Evenings feature screenings of Last Song for You (2024) and Fly Me to Polaris (1999).
The accompanying outdoor installation Pop Unboxed, co-curated with the Hong Kong Design Institute, will showcase themed displays blending classic and contemporary pop culture, including tributes to neon street scenes and virtual singer showcases.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) presents Fantasies in Reality: A Cinematic Journey, screening 12 Hong Kong fantasy films from the 1950s to the 2000s, including the 4K restored version of The Spooky Bunch (1980). A special screening of the 4K restored The Kid (1999), starring the late Leslie Cheung, will commemorate what would have been his 70th birthday.
To mark its 25th anniversary, the HKFA will host a Restored Treasures film marathon from 16 to 17 May, followed by an exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum from June, showcasing rare film artefacts.
