After attracting acclaim at Odyssey 2025 earlier this year, the Hong Kong documentary Four Trails is now launching in cinemas across the UK from 6 November, with over 100 screenings booked across Everyman, Picturehouse, ODEON and The Light venues. The scale of the release marks a significant moment for Hong Kong independent filmmaking within the UK cinema landscape.
A major box office success in Asia and a film driven strongly by community enthusiasm, Four Trails reveals a different side of Hong Kong — one shaped not by neon skylines, but by steep mountain paths, quiet forests, and sheer human resilience.
The documentary follows ultra-distance runners attempting a near-impossible challenge: 298 kilometres across four of Hong Kong’s most iconic long-distance trails, climbing more than 14,500 metres in under 72 hours. With only 6% of participants ever completing the full route, successful finishers are regarded as part of a living folklore.
Directed by Hong Kong-born British filmmaker Robin Lee in his feature debut, Four Trails earned him the Best New Director Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. The film moves far beyond the scope of traditional sporting documentaries, reflecting on belonging, identity, and what it means to test the limits of body and will.
Building on its international festival momentum through the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Making Waves world showcase, Four Trails continues to gain critical recognition. It will soon be featured at both the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and the Golden Rooster International Film Festival in Xiamen.
The UK release is being coordinated by Hiu Man Chan of De Montfort University, whose UKRI-funded research and social enterprise initiative supports creative exchange and emerging voices in film.
Four Trails offers a portrait of Hong Kong where the city’s true heart lies along its highest ridges — in effort, endurance, and the landscapes that shape those who journey across them.
