Hong Kong Arts Centre ifva Co-production

The first Virtual Reality project by Hong Kong filmmaker Tsang Tsui-Shan

Premiere at the 79^th Venice International Film Festival

An immersive experience documenting a dance artist duo’s journey of transgressing between life and death

Chroma 11 will be showcased at Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District from 17 September to 1 October

[Hong Kong, 1 August 2022] Virtual Reality (VR) project co-produced by Hong Kong Arts Centre ifva and Hong Kong filmmaker Tsang Tsui-Shan, Chroma 11, to premiere at the 79^th Venice International Film Festival as the first Hong Kong VR project being selected! The project documented the intimate moments and sentiments between dance artists Ix Wong Thien-pau (Malaysia) and Aaron Khek Ah-hock (Singapore) during the heart-rending last days of Aaron. Through clips of rearranged memories and volumetric video captured by DepthKit, the creative team reconstructed a reunion of the parted souls in the form of a duo dance afterlife, expanding our imagination and understanding of videography with VR technology. Chroma 11 will be showcased in Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District from 17 September to 1 October.

Chroma 11 innovatively recreates love transcends life and death

‘Could love transcend life and death?’ Previously directed Big Blue Lake and The Lady Improper, Chroma 11 is the extension of Tsang Tsui-Shan’s dance documentary film Ward 11 which won her the Silver Award (Open Category) at the 25th ifva festival. The work documented the love story of dance artist Ix Wong Thien-pau and Aaron Khek Ah-hock. The couple struggles along the way as being gay, Ix being HIV positive and Aaron being a cancer patient. Aaron passed away when Tsang Tsui-shan was filming a dance video Ward 11 for the couple in 2019. Witnessing how death separated loved ones, Tsang wishes to use video and technologies to bring the couple back and let Ix and Aaron dance together once more. With the help of VR, Tsang reconstructed the dance of the artist duo, bringing back the intimate moments of companionship. Arranging a reunion for the departed soul and the alive, where they could dance with each other between the space of virtual and reality.

The idea of Chroma 11 comes from “dancing with the dead”, choreographed by Ix Wong Thien-pau. The piece is about life and death, homosexuality/ LGBTQIA+, illness and isolation, addressing these philosophical yet realistic topics. Apart from questioning the boundary between real and virtual, the work reflects on the relationship between art and technology. Tsang Tsui-shan once expressed ‘Losing someone you love is one of the hardest things in the world to deal with. The periphery of life and death could be indistinctly broad. Could VR this relatively new medium enable the couple who had accompanied each other and had danced together for years to dance once more? I wish this work could invite visitors to enter the daily lives of the couple and experience their profoundly moving affections.’

Download Chroma 11 trailer: http://ftp.hkac.org.hk/MDD/Chroma11/

Supported and produced by Hong Kong Arts Centre | First time integrating VR with filmmaking

Hong Kong Arts Centre has always been supporting the local moving images, its flagship programme ifva established itself as a platform to unite the independent film and media arts talents based in Hong Kong and Asia. Constantly promoting and supporting local creative talents to experiment with different mediums and technologies in moving images.

Chroma 11 to premiere at the Venice Immersive section of 79^th Venice International Film Festival as the first Hong Kong VR project being selected. Chroma 11 has been selected at the 77^th Venice International Film Festival, Biennale College Cinema (Virtual Reality Project category). At the time, the producer and director of ifva, Kattie Fan, and director Tsang Tsui-shan travelled to Venice and participated in the programmes organized by the Biennale College, learning how to adopt VR technology in art making. Kattie Fan expressed, ‘We are honoured to be selected at the Biennale College and able to learn about the latest VR technology from viewing international projects in Venice. This was a huge encouragement to artists who specialized in VR. I hope there would be more resources in Hong Kong to provide exchange and learning opportunities for artists who work with VR.’

The first local showcase is supported by Meta

Chroma 11 has also gained the support of Meta. Meta provides all the VR hardware and technical support for the first local showcase that takes place at Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District from 17 September to 1 October. This showcase, apart from the VR videos, incorporates elements such as installation, dance and moving images. With the VR headsets, visitors will have a full sensory experience in the virtual space, immersing in the love story of Ix Wong Thien-pau and Aaron Khek Ah-hock.

Chroma 11 Creative Team

Director: Tsang Tsui-Shan

Choreographer: Ix Wong Thien-pau

Performer: Ix Wong Thien-pau, Aaron Khek Ah-hock

Producer: Kattie Fan, Teresa Kwong

Creative Technologist: Lam Chi-fai

Art Director – VR Production: Iv Chan

Art Director – Installation: Carmen Cheng

Sound Designer and Mixing: Benny Chan

Composer and Sound Designer: Eunice Martins

Virtual Reality immersive experience: Chroma 11, Tsang Tsui-Shan | Hong Kong Premiere

<![if ·       17 September to 18 September (Saturday to Sunday)

<![if ·       20 September to 25 September (Tuesday to Sunday)

<![if ·       27 September to 1 October (Tuesday to Saturday)

<![if ·       Venue: The Room, Freespace, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District

<![if·        Tickets available from 11 August, 10am (Thursday) onwards.

Download Chroma 11 Press Kit: http://ftp.hkac.org.hk/MDD/Chroma11/   

Including synopsis, director’s statement, film info and technical specifications, introduction of the director, performer and creative team, download link of trailer, poster and director portrait.

For media interview

Tsang Tsui-shan (director);  Ix Wong Thien-pau ( artist) and Kattie Fan (producer) are pleased to share the process and challenges of the project

Hong Kong Arts Centre - Art for Passion, Art for Life, Art for All

This year marks the 45th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Since 1977, the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) has been a platform for nurturing and supporting artists, and infusing art into everyday life. Its unique arts and educational programmes aim to make the arts accessible for all. The HKAC believes in the transformational power of art for people from all walks of life. Established for more than four decades, the HKAC endeavours to bring arts to the people of Hong Kong – by presenting programmes for visual arts, performing arts, moving images and media arts, comics and animation. Our other areas also cover arts education, conferences, festivals, public art and community projects. All with the vision and mission of engaging and inspiring creativity in the Hong Kong community.

In 2000, HKAC founded its education arm, Hong Kong Art School (HKAS). The HKAS provides award-bearing programmes to nurture artists and art practitioners, as well as short enrichment courses for the general public. The HKAC aspires to engage everyone in the community to become an active participant in the arts – as an enthusiast, an artist or a patron.

Let’s continue to embrace ‘Art for Passion, Art for Life, Art for All’, and share the inspiration.

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