It is not every day that two pillars of a city’s cultural identity reach their golden jubilee simultaneously, but that is precisely the case for the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) and City Magazine. Both were founded in 1976, and both have spent the past half-century championing the arts in their own distinct ways — one through the silver screen, the other through the printed page. This April, they come together for a joint celebration befitting the occasion.
A Cult Classic Returns to Where It All Began
The centrepiece of the celebrations is a special screening of the restored 50th-anniversary edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, scheduled for 5 April at Hong Kong City Hall — the very venue that hosted the inaugural HKIFF back in 1976. Directed by Jim Sharman, the film remains one of cinema’s most beloved cult classics, a gleefully genre-defying concoction of musical, romance, comedy, sci-fi, horror, and adventure that has lost none of its outrageous charm in the decades since its release.
The choice of film feels deliberately symbolic: just as The Rocky Horror Picture Show refused to be defined by any single category, both HKIFF and City Magazine have spent 50 years resisting easy classification, constantly evolving while staying true to their creative roots.
Ahead of the screening, representatives from City Magazine will take the stage to reflect on the parallel journeys of the magazine and the festival — two institutions that grew up together alongside Hong Kong itself.
A Special Edition, Online Polls, and Open Conversations
The celebrations extend well beyond a single screening. In April, City Magazine will publish a dedicated HKIFF Golden Jubilee issue, packed with retrospective essays, profiles of past and present Filmmakers-in-Focus, reflections from a new generation of filmmakers, and a curated collection of urban legends tied to both institutions — the kind of behind-the-scenes stories that rarely make it into official histories.
Film lovers with opinions to share — and who doesn’t, when it comes to cinema — will also have their say through a series of joint online polls running from 8 March to 3 April. Voters can weigh in on three categories:
- My Favourite HKIFF Chinese Films
- My Favourite HKIFF Foreign Film Titles
- My Favourite City Magazine Film Star Cover
Each poll presents 100 nominees, with participants selecting their top five picks. Results will be announced before the Rocky Horror screening on 5 April, adding a sense of anticipation to the lead-up.
Urban Legends and the Stories Behind the Stories
As part of the broader 50 and Beyond: The Hong Kong International Film Festival Golden Jubilee Exhibition, City Magazine’s creative arm City Lab will host a free public sharing session titled Urban Legends of HKIFF and City Magazine on 7 April at Hong Kong City Hall. The session promises to surface the folklore and lesser-known narratives that have accumulated over five decades — the kind of institutional memory that no press release can fully capture.
The 50th HKIFF: Twelve Days of Cinema
All of this unfolds against the backdrop of the 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which runs for 12 days from 1 to 12 April 2026. The full programme is set to be unveiled on 10 March, giving audiences just enough time to plan their schedules — and their watchlists.
For a city that has long positioned itself at the crossroads of East and West, tradition and reinvention, the sight of HKIFF and City Magazine marking 50 years together feels like more than just an anniversary. It is a reminder of how culture, when nurtured over decades, becomes something genuinely irreplaceable.
