Kay Tse was in Malaysia for the HK Film Gala. Photos: Handout
The Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation 2024 is in full swing, kicking off with the launch of the exhibition From Idea to Icon: Crafting Hong Kong Cinema at GSC The Starling Mall, running until Oct 3.
The opening ceremony also featured the screening of the action-comedy Out Of The Shadow, directed by Ricky Ko and starring Cantopop singer Kay Tse.
Tse, who portrays a retired undercover cop in the film, attended the event at Starling Mall on Sept 20.
During the Q&A session following the screening, the 47-year-old star expressed how much she missed her fans in Malaysia, noting that it had been eight years since her last visit here.
She also mentioned her husband, Louis Cheung, who had recently been in Kuala Lumpur to film a movie.
Unlike all the HK actors who've come to Malaysia for filming and have enjoyed the selection of Malaysian food, she said Cheung couldn't do the same due to a strict diet for his upcoming role.
"He needed to slim down for his next role, so he was on meals without salt or oil and didn’t get to enjoy the food here! His spiritual food was me," joked Tse, who share two children with Cheung.
"Every time he ate, we would FaceTime, and he'd watch me enjoying my meals. For him, the best thing to look at was me!"
Tse also expressed her hope to one day work on a film project in Malaysia.
Kay Tse (right) is happy to be back in Malaysia. With her is producer of Out Of The Shadow, Ng Kin Hung.
The Wedding Invitation Street singer said her interest to act started after attending several of her husband's premieres. One of her earliest appearance was in the 2009 movie Split Second Murders.
In 2022, Tse landed her first leading role in the movie Band Four. In this latest film, she once again plays the leading character.
"Hong Kong films often focus on male characters, so I'm very lucky to take on these two lead roles," she said.
Though she has no formal acting training, Tse learned by observing other actors and credited her husband as her personal acting coach.
"He advises me to take my time with scripts, connect deeply with the role, and that has had a big impact on me."
The Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation 2024 showcases seven films, including the opening title Out Of The Shadow, along with For Alice by Chow Kam Wing, Love Lies by Ho Miu Ki, Once In A Blue Moon by Andy Lo, One Night At School by Sunny Lau, The Remnant by Kwan Man Hin, and YUM Investigation by Dickson Leung.
Also present at the Gala were actor Ling Man Lung for the film The Remnant as well as directors Kwan and Leung.
This was the first time all three were visiting Malaysia, and the three of them said they were looking forward to enjoying Malaysian food when they were here.
The Hong Kong talents who attended The Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation 2024 at The Starling Mall. (From left) Directors Kwan Man Hin and Dickson Leung, as well as actors Kay Tse and Ling Man Lung.
Since the Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation aims to connect filmmakers from Hong Kong and Malaysia, Leung said that he hoped to film in Malaysia one day.
"Malaysia is spacious with great landscapes. The people here are nice, friendly and enthusiastic about films, it would be good to collaborate with the production teams here."
He also revealed his interest in making a supernatural or horror film in Malaysia.
Meanwhile Kwan, who is working on a screenplay for a comedy, added: "Whether it’s within or out of the film industry, I'm looking forward to opportunities for collaboration here.”
Organised by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), the event aims to provide a platform for HK filmmakers to engage with Asian film industry and foster future collaboration. Since it started, the exhibition has travelled to Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta and Phnom Penh.
This is its second stop to Malaysia, and it's a collaboration with local cinema operator, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) and film distributor GSC Movies (GSCM).
