Archives Invites: Dr Mok Kin Wai Patrick & Chew Tee Pao
Thu, 18 May | 7 - 8pm

Venue: Zoom (online)
Fee: Free with registration
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/archives-invites-dr-mok-kin-wai-patrick-chew-tee-pao-tickets-601888493687  

Practice as Research: Learning Chinese Martial Arts for the Creation of Dance Pieces 
Chinese martial arts is an ephemeral representation of intangible culture, which is difficult to document, archive and transmit, not to mention its tactic knowledge and skills that needed to be first learned before it could be transformed into a dance piece. Based on a case study by Hong Kong Dance Company Ltd., the talk presents how to take a “being-doing-knowing” approach in a project that aims to learn and explore the embodied knowledge of practising martial arts and transform the cultural heritage into a choreographic work. The practice and research would also help us formulate a methodology for the transmission of intangible culture into creative works. 

The Preservation and Restoration Journey of Ring of Fury
Inspired by the 1970s kungfu craze sparked by Bruce Lee, Ring of Fury (1973, Tony Yeow & James Sebastian) is Singapore’s first and only martial arts film. It starred a practising Singaporean Kyokushin karate master, Peter Chong. Banned for more than 30 years, the film was largely unseen until 2017 when the Asian Film Archive (AFA) restored the film from a sole surviving film print. AFA’s archivist will share the challenges in preserving and restoring the film, the impact to the advocacy of preservation, and the experience of reintroducing the restored film to new audiences. 

In conjunction with this Archives Invites talk, the film Ring of Fury will be screened at NAS Oldham Theatre on 24 May, 8pm. 
Tickets to be purchased on Asian Film Archive’s website: https://www.asianfilmarchive.org/

About the Speakers
Dr Mok Kin Wai Patrick is Assistant Professor of the Cultural and Creative Industries Programme at the Art and Design Department, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. He is interested in studying history, heritage, cultural policies and cultural-creative economy. He co-authored the books Cheng Yu Tung: A Lifetime of Diligence, Integrity and Dedication (2020) and The Roadmap of Design Strategy for Hong Kong Manufacturing SMEs (2019 and 2020). Dr Mok is currently researching on the social and cultural impact of the arts, heritage of Chinese martial arts and dance choreography and dancers’ career planning and development.

Chew Tee Pao has been with the Asian Film Archive (AFA) since 2009. As Archivist, Tee Pao plans AFA’s preservation strategies and oversees the development of film collections, as well as curating various film programmes to showcase these collections. He also selects and oversees AFA’s film restorations, and has delivered presentations on AFA’s advocacy efforts and the issue of film preservation. His publications include an article on NANG magazine (Issue 8, 2020) and a co-written chapter “Independent Digital Filmmaking and its Impact on Film Archiving in Singapore” for the book Singapore Cinema: New Perspectives (2017).