The festival
HKIFF is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals, launched in 1977 — preceding Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Busan. It grew in tandem with the Hong Kong New Wave, the Chinese Fifth Generation and Taiwan New Cinema, becoming an important gathering point for international programmers and a key venue for raising the profile of Chinese-language film.
Worth knowing
Today the festival screens around 230 films from more than 60 countries each year across multiple venues. The 2026 edition marks its 50th (HKIFF50).
How to attend
Run by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, it is open to the public, with tickets sold online and through box offices ahead of the festival.
Awards & submissions
HKIFF’s competitive strand is the Firebird Awards, judged across a Young Cinema Competition — run in both Chinese-language and World categories — plus Documentary and Short Film competitions; winners in the short and documentary categories are eligible for Academy Award consideration. Run by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, the festival screens around 230 films from more than 60 countries each year across venues citywide, and the 2026 edition marks its 50th. It grew up alongside the Hong Kong New Wave and remains an important meeting point for programmers and a showcase for Chinese-language cinema. Filmmakers enter through FilmFreeway ahead of the spring festival, with early-bird and final deadlines and eligibility rules published each year; non-English films require English subtitles. Tickets go on sale to the public online and through box offices before the festival, which typically runs from late March into April.
Official site →Dates and programs change year to year — check the official site for the current edition.