The Hong Kong & Shenzhen Biennale Curatorial Team believes that an exhibition on architecture and urbanism should go beyond the physical exhibitions and public seminars. The Curatorial Team proposes promoting films featuring the theme “Tri-ciprocal Cities: The Time, The Place, The People”.

During the exhibition period from February to April 2012, three films will be shown to the public at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. These movies are Night on Earth (1991) by Amercian director Jim Jarmusch, 24 City (2008) by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke and PTU: Police Tactical Unit (2003) by Hong Kong director Johnnie To. The collective themes of the selected films demonstrate different perspectives throughout the cities and the transformation of an environment not only in a poetic manner but also in an urban context. Through diverse perspectives about cities and urbanism, these three films will bring interesting discourse to the Hong Kong & Shenzhen Biennale.

Night on Earth depicts the stories of five different taxi drivers in five cities (Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki) and their remarkable encounters on the same night. The film is a collection of individual vignettes in the city scenes where the taxi drivers take the audience to explore various urban and temporal contexts. 24 City consists five authentic stories about the lives in an old apartment complex. It is a reflection on the phenomenon of rapid urban redevelopment and the human relationship with their associated geographical settings. Lastly, PTU: Police Tactical Unit recounts the encounters of a patrolling Police Tactical Unit officer during in one night. It is connected to crime and triad activities in the city of Hong Kong.