Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, and Quattro Hong Kong 2, from four South-East Asian filmmakers, have been announced as the opening films of this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

The festival (March 20-April 5) also announced Hong Kong actress Miriam Yeung as the ambassador for this year’s edition.

To and Wai’s Don’t Go Breaking My Heart is a romantic comedy starring Louis Koo, Daniel Wu and Gao Yuanyuan. Quattro Hong Kong 2 features four short films from Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the Philippines’ Brillante Mendoza, Malaysia’s Ho Yuhang and Hong Kong’s Stanley Kwan.

Wai will also be this year’s Filmmaker in Focus and will be honoured with screenings of 11 of his films, an on-stage interview and the publication of a special catalogue.

The festival, which will screen 335 films from 56 countries, will also feature a master class by Jia Zhangke and the world premiere of Jia-produced documentary Yulu; retrospectives of Abbas Kiarostami and Hong Kong cultmeister Kuei Chih-hung, and sidebars focusing on Romanian and Vietnamese cinema and American indies.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Fortissimo Films, the festival will also present a retrospective of some of their best-known titles.

Several Oscar-nominated films and a selection of award-winning titles from the world’s leading festival will also be screened, including recent Berlin winners Nader And Simin: A Separation and The Turin Horse.

The festival is organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society which also organises the Asian Film Awards and Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum.

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