The films of Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), filmmaker extraordinaire, were screened in a special retrospective program at the La Cinematheque Francaise in Paris from March 2 through 31.
The retrospective collection offered a total of 21 films - 20 featuring Hou behind the scenes and one documentary that holds him in the spotlight.
The documentary maker, renowned French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, spoke with Hou in a public forum moderated by Bernard Benoliel, cultural director at Cinematheque, on March 12 after a screening of "HHH, un portrait de Hou Hsiao-Hsien.”
Other events that were offered alongside the retrospective program include a March 3 conference by Taiwanese cinema specialist Wafa Ghermani, who delineated Hou's role as a leading figure in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement and how his personal history is intertwined with that of the nation's past.
French film critic Emmanuel Burdeau also presented his case on March 17, in which he delivered his claim for a "Shu Qi trilogy” encompassing the three roles Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (舒淇) was casted by Hou for "Millennium Mambo (千禧曼波),” "Three Times (最好的時光),” and "The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘).”
La Cinematheque Francaise has also partnered with Carlotta Films to release a six-film Blu-ray box set at the end of 2016. The box set will be released after classics such as "The Boys of Fengkuei (風櫃來的人),” "A Time to Live, A Time to Die (童年往事),” and "Dust in the Wind (戀戀風塵)” finish their theater run in France this summer.
The French film archive, which holds one of the world's largest collections of films and cinema-related items, hosted the French premiere of Hou's Cannes-winning martial arts epic "The Assassin” earlier on Feb. 17.
More information ondirector Hou Hsiao-hsienandhis filmsare available at theCultural Featuressection.