On January 12th, a 4K restoration screening took place in Hong Kong as part of the "Renewal of Time - Classic Hong Kong Film Restoration Project" jointly initiated by the China Film Archive (CFA), Douyin, and Volcengine. The 4K restored version of "Love Unto Waste" was showcased to the Hong Kong audience at the Causeway Bay Cinema. Stanley Kwan, the film's director, shared behind-the-scenes stories with the public of how the film was made and how he felt about the 4K restoration. Kwan was thrilled with the restoration as it enabled him to relive the "texture of film". He also expressed satisfaction with color reproduction, character makeup and other aspects of the restoration.

On the occasion, a donation ceremony was also held for the CFA to receive film materials from Mr. Tse Pak-keung and the Sil-Metropole Organization. Donation certificates were presented to them by Ms. Sun Xianghui, director of the CFA. A renowned collector of film materials, Mr. Tse used to head the distribution department of the Sil-Metropole Organization. This time, his donation included 375 posters and other items, covering over two hundred movies released in Hong Kong from the 1960s to the early 21st century.

The "Classic Hong Kong Film Restoration Project" explores new concepts and approaches to film restoration. On one hand, the CFA team combines years of restoration experience with AI algorithms developed by Volcengine to enhance the overall quality of restoration. On the other hand, great emphasis has been put on artistic restoration and directors of original movies are often invited over to guide color grading and oversee the faithful reproduction of lights and colors in line with their original intention. So far, the project has witnessed the restoration of a raft of movies, including "Project A", "Zu: The Warriors from the Magic Mountain ", " King of Beggars ", "Love Unto Waste" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" etc.

(Translated by Luo Desai)