M+ Cinema, part of Hong Kong’s M+ museum of visual culture, is now open. Located in the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District and designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the cinema is quite unlike any mainstream movie theatre, or indeed any art house cinema in Hong Kong.

Established within the broader context of a functioning museum, it is dedicated to presenting a cross-disciplinary program of films, curated to resonate with exhibitions on offer elsewhere in the building. As such, the feature films, rare films, documentaries, experimental cinema, video art, restored classics, newly discovered films, and so forth set to be shown at M+ Cinema, will be chosen to complement what is on offer at M+’s other moving image spaces, including Grand Stair, M+ Facade the Mediatheque, and so forth.

M+ Cinema actually includes three separate cinemas. While all include high-end elements, like seats by renowned Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau, the three spaces vary, not just in terms of size (180 seats, 60 seats, and 40 seats) but also programming. From the outset, the curators’ intention was for each to become known for a specific type of film.

Understanding this, the designers sought to help reinforce. Each cinema is imbued with its own mood, and in so doing, contribute to the overall film-going experience. As visitors will soon notice, the three spaces are furnished in distinct fabrics (coloured purple, green, and blue respectively) by Danish designers Kvadrat; all are intended to contribute to viewer comfort and ensure each cinema has its own atmosphere.

Since opening, the M+ building has made quite an impact on Hong Kong. Thanks to its prominent position alongside Victoria Harbour, its impressive architectural form, and its LED screens which can be seen from as far away as Hong Kong Island, it has quickly achieved ‘local landmark’ status. Now open and mid-way through its inaugural program, which includes 70 works from Hong Kong and around the world, M+ Cinema is a welcome addition to the broader museum.

“As a museum of visual culture, moving image is one of the three key disciplines that M+ collects, exhibits, and interprets,” shares Suhanya Raffel, M+ Museum Director. “M+ Cinema will be established as the new cinema destination in Hong Kong and contributes to cultivating a richer cinematic culture in the city and beyond, celebrating all facets of the moving image for cinephiles and new audiences.”

mplus.org.hk

herzogdemeuron.com

Photography by Lok Cheng

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