The 10th Osian's-Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema will open with a Hong Kong film The Sparrow, directed by the maverick filmmaker Johnnie To Kei Fung, starring Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, Ka Tung Lam, Hoi-Pang Lo and Kenneth Cheung.
Sparrow is slang in local Hong Kong street language for pickpocket. It is an unusual story about a beautiful woman and three professional pickpockets coming together in search of an elusive key. The plot is efficient and To's skill and virtuosity is evident through the film. The film will be screened on July 11 at Siri Fort.
"Like a sparrow, the camera swerves through the forgotten alleyways and old buildings intent to reveal something new…..For me, film has always been a medium that documents a specific place and time. Sparrow is an embodiment of that spirit", says Johnnie To.
His filmography is an eclectic collection of films from almost every genre and he is considered the de facto hallmark of quality filmmaking in Hong Kong. His film Breaking News was shown at Osian's-Cinefan in 2005.