Hong Kong – Seventeen documentaries will be screened at the EU-Asia Documentary Festival, taking place in Hong Kong from July 22 to August 9. The event is organized by the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao and the Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong. The festival lineup explores a broad spectrum of contemporary issues, including environmental protection, human rights, youth empowerment, mental health, gender equality and resilience in times of war. Representing Italy is Bestiaries, Herbaria, Lapidaries (Bestiari, erbari, lapidari), directed by Massimo d'Anolfi and Martina Parenti. Structured in three distinct chapters, the film unfolds as a cinematic encyclopedia, exploring the often-overlooked worlds of animals, plants and stones. Blending documentary and visual essay, the opening chapter draws on archival footage to examine cinema's enduring fascination with animals. The second offers a lyrical exploration of the world's oldest botanical garden, celebrating the quiet resilience of plant life, while the final chapter reveals how stones, shaped by labor and war, become vessels of collective memory. The documentary is both a compelling journey through nature, history and art and a timely invitation to reconsider humanity's relationship with the natural world. (9colonne)