Internationally renowned photographer Wing Shya (appointed still photographer of Wong Kar Wai) as Chief Creative Director
BEAM+ LAB has recently joint hands with Mei Ah Entertainment Group to launch the classic movie-themed NFT collectible – CRYPTYQUES. The NFT collectibles were created based on Hong Kong films exclusively authorised by Mei Ah Entertainment Group Limited, a Hong Kong entertainment and distribution company that owns the largest number of copyrights and intellectual property (IP) rights for classic Hong Kong movies with an extensive library of over 600 movies, such as The Silent War (Chinese: 听风者), The Grandmaster (Chinese: 一代宗师) and See You Tomorrow (Chinese: 摆渡人). CRYPTYQUES aims to create an emotional connection with people through NFT products and set the tone for entertainment in the Web3 era, and also create a community and for movie enthusiasts, industry leaders, collectors and artists with a hybrid of online and offline engagement. Members can participate in a vast range of community-exclusive activities, such as movie screenings, film set visits, talks and panel discussions, first access to movie premieres and film festivals.
CRYPTYQUES is curated and led by the renowned Hong Kong-based photographer and director Wing Shya, in collaboration with a Hollywood production crew that participated in movies productions such as X-Men and Transformers. The team uses 3D-animated production techniques to recreate classic moments of Hong Kong movies. Since 1997, Shya has been appointed by Film Director Wong Kar-Wai as still photographer and graphic designer, and began collaborating with WKW on films Happy Together (Chinese: 春光乍泄), In the Mood for Love (Chinese: 花样年华), Eros (Chinese: 爱神) and 2046. Shya was also the first photographer to hold a solo exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills, Japan.
CRYPTYQUES is launched by BEAM+ LAB, a Web 3 art transformation hub breathing new life to traditional IPs with technology to set new definitions for entertainment. Since its establishment, BEAM+ LAB has garnered remarkable attention attracting international investors and raised over 2.2M USD for its seed round funding, with lead investors Edvance International (1410.HK) and Mei Ah Capital Holdings, and crypto ventures including Avatar (Avalanche Asia Star Fund), SNZ Capital, Amino Capital and M77 Ventures.
The first drop of the CRYPTYQUES NFT series “Desire” will mint in June 2022. Desire is a set of NFTs composed from 5 different sets, with 4 of them to be available in the format of random mints in June 2022 on CRYPTYQUES’ official website (cryptyques.com), and the last to be auctioned as an exclusive 1/1 unique NFT. Amongst all of the NFTs, a certain percentage will hold a PASS trait, and will receive a PASS airdrop. Stay tuned!
The first series will be focus on the “7 Emotions”, including Desire, Fury, Fear, Joy, Bitterness, Loathe and Love. Each of the seven emotions is a collection of NFTs derived and reinterpreted from one of Mei Ah Entertainment Group’s movies. Beginning with the emotion “Desire”, each subsequent drop encapsulates the human emotion depicted in the form of a lost memory fragment.
The first drop is a collection of 1,320 NFTs of classic Hong Kong movie scenes from the 1980s reflecting the strong emotional yearning of “Desire” which have been recreated as 3D-animated video clips by Shya and an internationally-acclaimed Hollywood production team.
Featured scenes include Tony Leung emerging from the crowd in a nightclub, signalling his character’s yearning for his dream girl in My Heart Is That Eternal Rose, 1989 (Chinese: 杀手蝴蝶梦), as well as the scene of Kent Tong and Pat Ha and the half-naked shot of lieles Cheung flirting on the upper deck of the Hong Kong Tram in the legendary Hong Kong new wave director Patrick Tam’s Nomad, 1982 (Chinese: 烈火青春), originally benchmarked as the representation of desire in Hong Kong cinema.
The exclusive 1/1 NFT includes scenes from Nomad, 1982 (Chinese: 烈火青春), My Heart Is That Eternal Rose, 1989 (Chinese: 杀手蝴蝶梦), Coolie Killer, 1982 (Chinese: 杀出西营盘), and Man on the Brink, 1981 (Chinese: 边缘人). The collection pays tribute to Tam’s stylistic visual language that hammers home a feeling of desire that served as an essential facet of Hong Kong’s cinematic New Wave. By revisiting these classic movies representing the golden era of Hong Kong cinema, CRYPTQUES invites Hongkongers to look back on their own culture, evaluate the present, and dream big for the future.
“Desire” NFT: Nomad
Featuring Leslie Cheung and Kent Tong
Wing Shya, Creative Director of CRYPTYQUES said, “The Hong Kong movie industry is built on the foundation laid profoundly by the predecessors who had a strong belief in exploring unchartered territory. Just like those who laid the building blocks for us, we are ready to create a new path for future generations. CRYPTYQUES takes a deep dive into another technological milestone that enhances the craft of cinematography, reimagining a form of artistry anew, and that we feel proud of.”
James Li, CEO of BEAM+ LAB added, “BEAM+ LAB is an art transformation hub whose mission is to build a community through art and blockchain. Our inaugural project, CRYPTYQUES, is an NFT collection that uses classic Hong Kong movies as the key medium to connect people and generations with emotions and sentiment. It is created to defy the norms of the entertainment industry by setting the tone of entertainment in the Web3 era. Through the partnership with Mei Ah Entertainment Group, we hope to shine a light on the golden era of Hong Kong classic films once again on the international stage, through a new community.”
To commemorate the first drop of CRYPTYQUES, BEAM+ LAB will host a 3-week offline launch event in Haus of Contemporary, an art gallery in Central, Hong Kong, and invite famous directors and blue chip NFT holders and collectors to celebrate together. The art gallery will exhibit relevant works of “Desire” and behind-the-scenes production stories, coupled with live performances and workshops, allowing visitors to reconnect with classic Hong Kong movies through creative work. More details of the launch event will be shared via the official channels.
“Desire” NFT: My Heart Is That Eternal Rose
Featuring Tony Leung
CRYPTYQUES is a community created by and for movie enthusiasts, industry leaders, collectors and artists with a hybrid of online and offline engagement. Members can participate in a vast range of community-exclusive activities, such as movie screenings, film set visits, talks and panel discussions, first access to movie premieres and film festivals. More information about the NFT utilities and rights will be shared via our official channels and Discord community.
Through the CRYPTYQUES Discord channel, selected NFT holders and members can participate as co-creators in upcoming projects such as voting on the theme of the next NFT launch, contributing stories and manuscripts for movie production, submitting artworks for future NFT launches and receiving royalties if the submitted artworks are selected.
To learn more about the offerings, membership programme and opportunity for Whitelist, please join and follow CRYPTYQUES’ official discord and social media platforms for the latest updates.
“Desire” NFT: My Heart Is That Eternal Rose
Featuring Joey Wong
*Photos provided by BEAM+ LAB
About BEAM+ LAB
BEAM+ LAB is a collective of creatives based in Hong Kong with vast experience in blockchain technology and entertainment. With a strong network within the HK film production industry, BEAM+ LAB is able to reclaim and reignite the international spotlight on Hong Kong’s film, art and culture, by paying tribute and reinventing Hong Kong’s golden era of films that have amassed an international cult following.
About Mei Ah Entertainment Group
Mei Ah Entertainment Group (SEHK: 391) was established in 1984, and first listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1993. It is a market-leading Chinese-language film and TV series distributor and producer in Hong Kong. Mei Ah Entertainment Group has an extensive library of more than 600 Chinese films, including award-winning and blockbuster films. The Group has developed a network of television channels, broadcasting popular films and TV programmes on subscription.
About Wing Shya
Wing Shya is a photographer and director from Hong Kong and founded the award-winning design studio, Shya-La-La Workshop. In 1997, appointed by Film Director Wong Kar-Wai as still photographer and graphic designer; Shya began collaborating with WKW on films Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, Eros and 2046. In Spring 2010, Shya debuted his block-buster feature film, Hot Summer Days and the sequel, Love in Space, which released in Fall 2011. Over the course of the 2010s, Shya continued to work on various videographic projects for commercial initiatives like Sacaii, MOTHER magazine, i-D magazine and musicians like Li Yuchun. Shya was also the first photographer to hold a solo exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills, Japan.
Website: http://www.cryptyques.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cryptyques/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cryptyques
Discord: https://discord.gg/cryptyques
Image: Trailer of “Desire” NFT: https://youtu.be/E8GXLnL0A2g
