Raise the Red Lantern in 35mm

Set in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the late 1930s and early 1940s, internationally celebrated Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee’s follow-up to the culture-shifting Brokeback Mountain (2005) depicts a group of college students and their attempt at a government insurgency. Lee’s steamy adaptation of Eileen Chang’s novella earned the filmmaker his second Golden Lion win after Brokeback Mountain and was Taiwan’s initial submission for the International Feature Film category at the Oscars that year. Ultimately, the Academy asked the country to withdraw the film from consideration, citing concerns that the film was not a majority-Taiwanese production.

Director Zhang Yimou collaborated with cinematographer Christopher Doyle to create a visually stunning drama where color palettes drive the narrative in equal measure to the acting and action onscreen. This tale of a master swordsman secretly plotting revenge as he tells his king stories of defeating previous assassins features a cast of internationally acclaimed actors and martial artists led by Jet Li and including Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Donnie Yen. On its United States release, the film debuted in the number one spot at the box office two years after it was nominated in the International Feature Film category at the Oscars.

Filmmaker Ang Lee in conversation with Academy President Janet Yang.

While trying to stay focused on her upcoming college entrance exams, Nian (Zhou Dongyu) deals with extreme physical and emotional bullying from her classmates. Small-time criminal Bei (played by Mandopop singer Jackson Yee, in his first leading role) becomes Nian’s protector after she attempts to help him during an encounter with a group of street thugs. As the teens from opposite worlds spend more time together, romantic feelings blossom. Derek Tsang’s intense drama picked up numerous awards and nominations in Hong Kong and became the third film Hong Kong submitted to be nominated in the International Feature Film category at the Oscars.

Marking their tenth film collaboration, Andy Lau and Deannie Ip star in director Ann Hui’s heartwarming drama inspired by the personal experience of producer Roger Lee. Lau plays Roger, an unmarried filmmaker who takes on the role of caregiver after his longtime live-in maid Ah Tao, played by Ip, has a stroke. With Hui’s naturalistic directing and touches of humor, along with Lau and Ip’s nuanced performances, the film won all the top awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and became Hong Kong’s official submission for the International Feature Film category at the Oscars.