Materials from illume films, with notes from Fête Chinoise Editorial Team (Kayla Lo)
DIrected by Wong Tsui-Wah, IsabeL

Special Screening in TORONTO on May 21ST, ONE NIGHT ONLY

Rebecca Pan is not only an icon of the Hong Kong music world but also one of the city’s earliest boundary-pushing cultural pioneers. In 1972, she self-financed the production of the first-ever Mandarin musical Pai Niang Niang《白孃孃》, which reinterpreted the famous Chinese myth Legend of the White Snake《白蛇傳》 in a Broadway musical model. Through archival footage, interviews, and cinematic storytelling, Pai Niang Niang: The Last Osmanthus Blossom《白孃孃：一朶遲桂花》explores the life and achievements of the trailblazer and pays tribute to her significant impact on the local arts scene. A one-night-only special screening will take place on May 21, 2024, at 7:00 pm at Innis Town Hall.

SYNOPSIS

In March 1972, Rebecca Pan self-financed the production of the first ever Mandarin musical, Pai Niang Niang《白孃孃》 (1972) and performed for 60 times at Princess Theatre, Tsim Sha Tsui. This is not only a piece of history of Hong Kong art and culture, but also the most important milestone of Rebecca’s oeuvre. This work used the Broadway musical model to adapt the famous Chinese myth Legend of the White Snake《白蛇傳》.

Bringing together Eastern and Western theatrical styles, the production combined Chinese traditional music, dance, costume and stage design with modern Western concepts. Despite this bold attempt, the resulting work was ahead of its time and was not a commercial success. Also, it was thought to have not been captured on film and faded into obscurity. In April, 2023, however, a partial film record of the performance was miraculously discovered. The restored surviving footage has become the finale of this documentary, Pai Niang Niang: The Last Osmanthus Blossom.

This documentary is directed by director Wong Tsui-Wah, Isabel. During the years of observation and excavation, Isabel has been looking for various aspects of Pai Niang Niang, and through this documentary, she recorded every detail of Pai Niang Niang.

潘迪華不僅是香港樂壇一個不老的傳奇，更是本地最早的跨界文化拓荒者之一。1972年3月，潘迪華自資製作香港首部華語音樂劇《白孃孃》，並在尖沙咀樂宮戲院演出了六十場，這不但是香港藝術文化其中一段歷史，亦是潘迪華畢生最大的投資及創舉。該劇以百老匯音樂劇模式改編膾炙人口的中國民間傳說《白蛇傳》，其實是中西合璧，亦是將中國傳統音樂、舞蹈、服裝和舞台設計結合西方現代觀念的大膽嘗試，卻因走得太前而不獲市場接受，亦因沒有任何舞台紀錄片段傳世而被淡忘。2023年四月，當年拍下的局部表演錄像片段奇蹟出土，經修復後成為這部紀錄片的壓軸部分，讓歌迷、影迷再次感受其前瞻性。

這部紀錄片由黃翠華導演執導，黃氏在多年來的觀察及發掘過程中，一直尋找《白孃孃》的各種面貌，並透過這部紀錄片將《白孃孃》的點滴記錄下來。

DIRECOTR Wong Tsui-Wah, Isabel 導演黃翠華

Wong Tsui-Wah, Isabel is a screenwriter, director, multi-media producer, and curator.

She has worked in television as a script reviewer for drama content and as a programme producer for variety shows. She has written more than 20 drama series, and she has produced music programmes and award ceremonies. In 2021, she was appointed Content Director of TVB Music Group, with a focus on album and concert production. She founded the studio Artcanteen and is passionate about documentary filmmaking. In 2022, she curated a photo exhibition of Ms Rebecca Pan - Rebecca Pan Wan Ching Will The Orange Blossom Smile Photo Journey. She is working on a documentary celebrating the achievements of Filipino musicians in Hong Kong.

黃翠華，資深電影及電視編劇、紀錄片導演及策展人。曾任職電視台，擔任戲劇科劇本審閱，參與創作超過二十部劇集；後期主理音樂節目同時參與各類型音樂會及演唱會策劃和製作。2021年出任電視台附屬唱片公司內容總監。現擁有自己的工作室 「藝術糧倉」，從事多媒體創作及製作，並熱衷紀錄片製作。2022年策展了「潘迪華．花弄影．珍藏相片展」及正在攝製有關在港菲律賓裔音樂人對亞洲流行音樂貢獻的紀錄電影。

ABOUT REBECCA PAN

在香港藝術文化先驅榮念曾先生眼中，潘迪華是一名文化開路人。潘迪華的藝術是「現在」的、不是「過去」的。她創作的是橋樑，是通往「未來」 文化的橋樑。潘迪華的演藝生涯超過半世紀，她多元化的藝術工作包括音樂、舞台、電影及寫作等等。現年93歲的潘迪華，近日更被雜誌《Tatler》選為香港藝術界中亞洲最具影響力人物之一。

In the eyes of Hong Kong art and culture pioneer Mr. Danny Yung, Rebecca Pan is a cultural pioneer. Her art represents the "present", not the "past". What she creates is a bridge to the "future" culture. Rebecca Pan’s acting career is more than half a century, and her diverse artistic work includes music, stage, film, and writing. Rebecca, 93, was recently selected as one of the Asia’s most influential HK (The Arts) by the magazine Tatler.

Recommendation from Tina Lau, Image Director

About the Original Music of Pai Niang Niang
Composed by joseph Koo 顧嘉煇

顧嘉煇，有香港樂壇教父之稱，創作過無數膾炙人口的經典金曲，每一首歌曲也陪伴香港成長。1972年，顧嘉煇受潘迪華邀請，參與原創音樂劇《白孃孃》的音樂創作，其中插曲〈愛你變成害你〉一直流行至今，成為跨世紀國語音樂經典。除了音樂創作之外，《白孃孃》邀請了多位填詞人譜上歌詞，包括其後與顧嘉煇合作無間的黃霑、著名填詞人莊奴、汪小松、李寶旋等，為《白孃孃》添上豐富色彩。除了〈愛你變成害你〉，劇中多首原創歌曲也加入中西樂元素，時至今天，也絕不過時，包括由泰迪羅賓主唱的〈控訢〉、〈默許〉、〈我在夢中見過你〉、〈誰能阻擋我的愛〉等。是次紀錄電影《白孃孃:一朶遲桂花》將會一一與歌迷重溫多首精彩樂章。

Joseph Koo Ka-fai, known as the godfather of the Hong Kong music scene, has composed countless popular classic hits, and each song has accompanied the growth of Hong Kong. In 1972, Joseph Koo was invited by Rebecca Pan to participate in the music creation of the original musical Pai Niang Niang. The song If Loving You Means Hurting You has been popular to this day and has become a cross-century Mandarin music classic. In addition to music creation, Pai Niang Niang invited many lyricists to write the lyrics, including James Wong, who later collaborated with Joseph Koo, famous lyricists Zhuang Nu, Wang Xiao-song, Peter Lee, etc., adding rich colour to Pai Niang Niang. Besides If Loving You Means Hurting You, many original songs in the musical also incorporate elements of Chinese and Western music, which are still relevant today, including The Protest sang by Teddy Robin, Love Interlude, and I’ve Seen You In My Dreams, Who Can Stop Me From Loving You, etc. This documentary film Pai Niang Niang: A Last Osmanthus Blossom will relive these wonderful songs with audience one by one.

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