Having risen amid the post-golden age decline of Hong Kong cinema, Milkyway Image, founded in 1996 under the visionary leadership of Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, emerges as a singular force whilst local cinema faces diminishing returns. This audacious production house carves out a distinct identity both at home and on the global stage. Through such works as PTU, Throw Down, and Election, Milkyway Image not only rejuvenates Hong Kong cinema but also captivates audiences at international festivals, eventually expanding its reach into the Chinese mainland market.

Over nearly three decades, Milkyway Image has become synonymous with the seamless convergence of auteurism and commercial cinema. With unrelenting inventiveness, it deconstructs and reimagines genre cinema, such as triad sagas, crime thrillers, absurdist comedies, and crafts a refined cinematic language that is unmistakably its own. From early experiments to later, fully-realized hybrids of artistry and entertainment, its oeuvre redefines the narrative possibilities of genre filmmaking, reaffirming Hong Kong's place on the world cinema map.

"Milkyway Image is the unimaginable," remarks frequent collaborator Sean Lau Ching-wan—a deceptively simple phrase that encapsulates the company's ethos: to defy expectations, break inherited forms, and forge a path uniquely its own. As Milkyway approaches its thirtieth year, its sixty-plus filmography continues to astonish with bold ideas and formal precision.

This retrospective presents nineteen films across three thematic strands. "Labyrinths of Fate," an emblem of To's auteur vision and Milkyway Image's evolving identity; "Two Minds, One Flame," an exploration of the creative alchemy between To and Wai Ka-fai, showcasing the duo's genre-bending synergy, and "From the House of Milkyway," honoring five directors nurtured under the studio's roof where its cinematic philosophy is reimagined by a new generation. Rounding out the program is a revealing documentary that offers the  behind-the-scenes insights into the director Johnnie To's resolute authorship and collaborative spirit.

"Infinite Visions: Johnnie To and Milkyway Image" seeks not only to reassess To and Milkyway Image's legacy within Chinese-language cinema, but also to reflect on how genre, when courageously reinvented, becomes a vessel for personal expression and cultural critique.

【Errata】(updated 2025/07/18)

• ON Programme Guide (Aug.-Sep.), p.16: The Pre-screening talk of Throw Down starts at 15:30.

• ON Programme Guide (Aug.-Sep.), p.8, 14 & 36: Running on Karma → ▲ Non-English language film without English subtitles.

• ON Programme Guide (Aug.-Sep.), p.31, Drug War 2014 Best Film, Best Director & Best Screenplay, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards →2014 Best Director, Best Screenplay & Film Merit, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards 

【Changes concerning the film rating】(updated 2025/08/01)

• A Hero Never Dies：PG12 → PG15

• Election 2：PG15 → R

• Exiled：PG12 → PG15

• Running on Karma：PG12 → PG15

• Mad Detective：P → PG12

• Expect the Unexpected：PG12 → PG15
【Changes concerning the film rating】(updated 2025/08/29)

• Eye in the Sky：P → PG15