Red Sugar Guest Shift Series: Bartenders from Top 50 Asia Bars

Experience the power of storytelling at ASEAN Film Festival 2026, taking place from Aug. 20 to Sept. 27, 2026, across various venues in Hong Kong. Returning for its fourth edition, the festival presents its most ambitious programme yet, featuring more than 30 films from all 11 ASEAN member countries, alongside selected works from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Australia, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, and other participating regions. With free screenings available to the public, the festival offers an accessible gateway to the rich cultures, traditions, and perspectives of Asia and beyond.

This year's programme highlights the connection between cinema and music, showcasing films that use sound, song, and performance to deepen emotional storytelling. Audiences can look forward to acclaimed titles such as "Song of the Fireflies," "SuckSeed," "881," "Babah," "The Gula Anau Story," "Sound Across the Ocean," "Last Song for You," and "Dear You," among many others. The festival also marks the debut participation of Timor-Leste, introducing audiences to the country's cultural heritage through a special collection of short films.

In addition to screenings, selected sessions will feature discussions with filmmakers, directors, and industry professionals, offering deeper insights into the creative process. All screenings are free of charge, with tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis through the festival website.

Event information edited for consistency and clarity by The Beat Asia.

Discover a unique dialogue between past and present at "The Pleasure-Dome of Hills: A Curated Hallucination of a Modern Literati," on view from Aug. 27 to Oct. 3, 2026, at Ora-Ora. Curated by Hong Kong-based independent curator Zoie Yung, the multidisciplinary group exhibition brings together works by 13 artists, including Chan Cho Kiu Bunchi, Emily Cheng, Dave Chow Yui Wang, Huang Dan, Ashlee Ip, Vann Kwok, Lam Duen Shan Ming, Lau Hiu Tung, Mindy Lui, Gerald Mak, Tse Chun Sing, Wengio Wong, and Zhang Zhihui.

Inspired by the imagined layout of a traditional scholar’s studio, the exhibition juxtaposes Ming Dynasty huanghuali, Qing Dynasty zitan, and Republican-era rosewood furniture with contemporary art, craft, and wearable works. Through this concept of “polytemporality,” the exhibition creates a space where historical artifacts and contemporary interventions coexist, celebrating both the beauty and function of diverse artistic practices.

Part of Ora-Ora’s 20th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition explores how traditional shanshui landscapes are perceived within modern urban life. Through works such as Dave Chow’s "Constancy", as well as presentations by Vann Kwok, Ashlee Ip, Emily Cheng, and Huang Dan, visitors are invited on a journey that mirrors the experience of moving from Hollywood Road and Tai Kwun into Hong Kong’s surrounding natural landscapes. An opening reception will be held on Aug. 27, 2026, from 5 PM to 8 PM.

Event information edited for consistency and clarity by The Beat Asia.

Embark on an unforgettable seafood-filled dining experience with A Feast of Japanese Seafood Flavours at Big Bay Café, available from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, 2026, from 6 PM to 9:30 PM. This all-new themed dinner buffet showcases an impressive selection of premium Japanese seafood and culinary favorites, inviting guests to enjoy an elevated feast inspired by the flavors of Japan.

The buffet features an extensive Japanese Sashimi & Sushi Station, offering premium sashimi, imported sushi, Matsuba Crab sushi, hand rolls, and weekend specialties such as Hokkaido scallops, salmon roe, and sea urchin. Guests can also enjoy unlimited servings from the Seafood on Ice selection, including Matsuba crab, prawns, clams, and sea whelks. Weekday diners can look forward to Brown Crab, while weekends, public holidays, and their eves feature lobster as an additional highlight.

From Monday to Thursday, each adult receives a serving of Kumamoto A4 Wagyu prepared to order on a sizzling teppan grill. From Friday to Sunday, public holidays, and their eves, guests can witness a spectacular Live Whole Bluefin Tuna Carving and enjoy free-flow selected Japanese sake, wines, and beer.

Prices start at HK$768 per person from Monday to Thursday and HK$868 per person from Friday to Sunday and public holidays.

Event information edited for consistency and clarity by The Beat Asia.

Step back into a New York that no longer exists through "The World Trade Center: Before Memory," a photography exhibition by Hong Kong artist Gretchen So, presented at HKI Gallery from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, 2026. Featuring black-and-white photographs captured on medium-format film in the early 1990s, with some being presented publicly for the first time, the exhibition revisits a time when the Twin Towers were still woven into the everyday rhythms of city life.

Rather than portraying the World Trade Center as a monumental landmark, So photographed the towers from streets, waterfronts, bridges, and public spaces across New York. Throughout the series, the buildings appear as recurring presences within the urban landscape, sometimes prominent, sometimes distant, yet consistently embedded in the lives of the people who moved through the city. The towers appear as witnesses to the everyday life of metropolitan New York.

“When I took these photographs, I was simply observing what was around me,” says So. “There was no intention to memorialize anything. Yet the Twin Towers kept appearing somewhere in the frame. They were not necessarily the subject, but they were part of the rhythm of the city and woven into the everyday lives of the people who lived there.”

Viewed today, these images carry a poignancy that did not exist when they were created. What began as observations of architecture, public space, and daily life has evolved into an unintentional record of a city forever changed by history. Through themes of memory, absence, and the shifting meaning of photographs over time, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how images can acquire new significance across generations.

“What is now absent has become as powerful as what remains visible,” she adds. The photographs have not changed. History has, and so has the way we see them.

Event information edited for consistency and clarity by The Beat Asia.

Photo by Gretchen So