14th HK - Asia Film Financing Forum Project Featuring PH's Lav Diaz‏

The 14th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), which will be held from 14 to 16 March, today unveiled 31 outstanding film projects, including three projects in the HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award, originating from 15 countries and regions. This year, HAF received a record-breaking number of submissions; more than 350 projects in total. This year’s projects cover a wide range of topics and feature a mix of renowned filmmakers as well as new and young talents. Two new additional awards are also announced, namely the Artention Films Award and Wutianming Post Production Award.

Five Hong Kong projects shortlisted

The shortlisted projects include five Hong Kong feature films. The award-winning director Adam WONG, after the success of She Remembers, He Forgets (HAF 2011), returns to HAF with his new project Trains In The Night. Amos WHY, who made his directorial debut Dot 2 Dot, joins this year’s HAF with the adaptation of an award-winning novel into the suspense feature Napping Kid. Local talents Kenneth LAI and Paul SZE will work with renowned actor and producer TIN Kai-man for a thriller Hypnotize the Jury. Scriptwriter Anthony YAN Pak Wing is joining forces with Hang CHIU, lead singer of  local band ToNick, to tell a story of faithfulness and relationships in their comedy Vampire Diary, which will be produced by acclaimed actor HA Yu. Best New Director of the 31st Hong Kong Film Award 2012, Jessey TSANG Tsui Shan, follows the success of her latest documentary Flowing Stories (HAF 2012), with the erotic feature The Lady Improper.

Leading Asian Filmmakers at 14th HAF

The 14th HAF will also feature established industry figures from across the region. This includes famous Taiwan singer, songwriter, actress and writer René LIU, who is making her directorial debut with Lieutenant Yi, to be produced by celebrated actress and director Sylvia CHANG. Liu’s story is about a well-known late 80s singer in Taiwan, who desires to transform herself with the approach of the new millennium, encounters unexpected outcomes. Also from Taiwan, experienced actor-director Doze NIU will come on board as the producer of From Black and White to Shades of Grey, which will be the first directorial feature of young talent HUANG Zi.

NING Hao, nicknamed "China's Guy Ritchie" for his black comedies such as Crazy Stone and Crazy Racer, will produce the first film of new director Muye WEN. Inspired by a true story, his project Dying to Survive explores the dignity of life and how to attain it.

HAF also welcomes back Vietnamese director PHAN Dang Di, whose latest feature Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (HAF 2011) was nominated for the Golden Bear award at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. This year he returns with his fourth film All My Daughters, a feature about a lonely retired American woman who goes to Vietnam to look for her granddaughter who was sold during the Vietnam War. Tibetan director Pema Tseden, winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2015 Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, also returns to HAF since 2012, to present An Everlasting Day, a story which reflects the spiritual history of the Tibet nation.

A number of veteran filmmakers’ projects have been selected for this year’s HAF. Experienced commercial film producer from Singapore CHAN Pui Yin, who produced the box office hits I Not Stupid and I Not Stupid Too, will produce Warrior of Love with Boris BOO and CHAN Yan-yan, directed by Derrick LUI. XU Wen, who participated in high-profile productions such as Kill Bill and 2046, will make her directorial debut with Golden Whale. SONG Fang, winner of the Best First Feature prize of the 65th Locarno International Film Festival, will present The Autumn Morning. Following his most recent film A Lullaby for the Sorrowful Mystery, which has been selected in the Official Competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2016, Filipino filmmaker Lav DIAZ will bring his new work When The Waves Are Gone, to HAF.

Documentaries explore individual, social and political issues

HAF has included documentary projects since 2012. Five projects have been selected this year from China, Georgia, Japan, Kazakhstan and Korea. The topics range from individual achievement to social and political issues. Abastumani, a project that explores the questions of life and death and co-directed by Nik VOIGT and Mariam CHACHIA, is the first project from Georgia selected for HAF. Anna VILGELMI, producer of Emir Baigazin’s new project The Wounded Angel, will produce About Life of Planets that follows a group of dreamers who raise their eyes to the stars. WANG Bing, one of the most important contemporary documentary filmmakers, examines the marriage of Laotian women in his new project Border Bride, which will be produced by Isabelle GLACHANT.

The HAF’s regular partnership with CPH:LAB this year brings the feature-length documentary Letters. The project records the lives of two ordinary people living on opposite sides of the world. This coproduction will be directed by South Korean director Jero YUN and Norwegian director Marte VOLD.

Speaking on behalf of HAF, Jacob Wong, Curator of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society and Director of the HAF, commented, “We are thrilled to receive a record-breaking number of submissions for the 14th HAF. The panel went through an exciting yet arduous selecting process. The projects are diverse in topic and style but there is one bond that tied them all together and that is their quality.”

Three outstanding projects vie for the HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award

The HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award was established in 2012 and is a collaboration between Fox International Productions (Greater China) and the Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum. The Award aims to nurture promising Chinese projects that shows regional appeal. The Award celebrates its fifth edition this year with three exciting finalists.

The three finalists are: Jong YU’s drama film Brothers, Hong Kong film Coarse Tea, Plain Rice by CHEUNG Suk-yee, and Man-Made Citizen directed by LI Yang. The winner of the Award will receive a cash prize of HK$100,000 and a Development Contract with Fox. Other finalists may also be offered a first look agreement.

Thirteen awards in recognition of outstanding projects

The 14th HAF will present a total of 13 awards, amounting to approximately HK$1,378,500 in cash and value in-kind. HAF is pleased to welcome back Star Chinese Movies and iQIYI as sponsors of the HAF Script Development Fund and iQIYI’s Special Award, respectively, both supporting the Chinese cinema.

In addition, HAF is proud to announce two new partners: Artention Films Co. Ltd. will present the Artention Films Award comprising a cash award of HK$50,000 and an offer of priority entry to the Artention Film Incubator in Shenzhen, China. The China Film Foundation – Wutianming Fund For Young Talents will sponsor the Wutianming Post Production Award, an in-kind award of post-production services worth RMB300,000 in value.

In 2015, HAF alumni have gone on to enjoy both box office success and critical acclaim at major film festivals around the world, effectively realising the opportunities offered to them by the forum. Among the successes are Lazy, Hazy, Crazy (HAF 2015), which was selected for the Asian Future Competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2015, and the Chinese Global Vision competition at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2015; Behemoth (HAF 2014) was selected for competition at the Venice Film Festival 2015; Cemetery of Splendour (HAF 2013) won Best Feature at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2015 and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival 2015; Chauthi Koot (aka The Fourth Direction, HAF 2012) won the Golden Gateway Award in the India Gold Competition at the 17th Mumbai Film Festival, and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival 2015; Philip YUNG’s crime thriller Port of Call (HAF 2011) won Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Golden Horse Awards and Best of Bucheon, Best Actress and Special Mention for Actor at the Bucheon International Film Festival 2015; and She Remembers, He Forgets (HAF 2011) was nominated for Best New Performer at the 2015 Golden Horse Awards.

Film financiers, investors and participants can register and schedule appointments with all the film projects at http://www.haf.org.hk/guest.php before 4 March. A complete list of the selected projects for the 14th HAF can be found in Appendix 1. Finalists for the 2016 HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award are listed in Appendix 2. For more information about HAF, please visit the official website at http://www.haf.org.hk/.

The 14th HAF Project List 

1. Abastumani

Georgia格魯吉亞

Directors 導演：Mariam CHACHIA, Nik VOIGT

Producer 監製：Mariam CHACHIA

Production Company 製作公司：OpyoDoc

2. About Life of Planets

Kazakhstan哈薩克斯坦

Director 導演：Katerina SUVOROVA

Producer 監製：Anna VILGELMI

Production Company 製作公司：Kino Company

3. All My Daughters

Vietnam 越南

Director 導演： PHAN Dang Di 潘黨迪

Producers 監製：PHAN Dang Di 潘黨迪, LIZEROUX Le Hang

Production Company 製作公司：DNY Productions

4. The Autumn Morning秋天的早晨

China 中國

Director 導演：SONG Fang 宋方

Producer 監製：ICHIYAMA Shozo 市山尚三

Production Company 製作公司：N/A

5. Avalanche 雪崩

China 中國

Director 導演：HE Jia 禾家

Producer 監製：NAI An 耐安

Production Companies 製作公司：Dream Factory 夢工作, Hejia Film Studio 禾家導演工作室

6. Border Bride女人

Hong Kong 香港, China 中國

Director 導演：WANG Bing 王兵

Producer 監製：Isabelle GLACHANT 伊莎

Production Company 製作公司：Chinese Shadows

7. Dying to Survive生命之路

China 中國

Director 導演：WEN Muye 文牧野

Producer 監製：NING Hao 寧浩

Production Company 製作公司：Mountain of Flowers Films Co. Ltd. 花滿山(上海)影業有限公司

8. An Everlasting Day永恆的一天

China 中國

Director 導演：Pema Tseden 萬瑪才旦

Producer 監製：XU Feng 徐楓

Production Company 製作公司：Beijing FangJin Visual Media Culture Communication Co. Ltd.

方金影視文化傳播（北京）有限公司

9. From Black and White to Shades of Grey

慕伶，一鳴，偉明

China 中國

Director 導演：HUANG Zi 黃梓

Producer 監製：Doze NIU 鈕承澤

Production Company 製作公司：Zhu Jiang Film Group 珠江電影集團

10. Golden Whale金色的鯨魚

China 中國

Director 導演：XU Wen 徐聞

Producers 監製：GAO Qunshu 高群書, WANG Ziwei 王紫薇

Production Company 製作公司：Messenger (Beijing) Entertainment Co. Ltd. 

傳遞光年（北京）影規傳媒有限公司

11. Hanalei Bay

Japan 日本

Director 導演：MATSUNAGA Daishi 松永大司

Producer 監製：OGAWA Shinji 小川真司

Production Company 製作公司：Bridgehead Inc.

12. Hypnotize the Jury催眠裁決

Hong Kong 香港

Directors 導演： Paul SZE Pak-lam 施柏林, Kenneth LAI Siu-kwan 黎兆鈞

Producer 監製：TIN Kai-man 田啟文

Production Company 製作公司：Vow Production Limited

13. The Imitator 模仿犯

Taiwan 台灣

Director 導演：YC Tom LEE 李育丞

Producer 監製：Jade LEE 李良玉

Production Company 製作公司：Dare Entertainment LTC 大能影業股份有限公司

14. Inking a Last Masterpiece

Japan 日本

Director 導演：UCHIJIMA Usuke 内島悠介

Producer 監製：KAWABATA Kohei 川畑耕平

Production Company 製作公司：Pao Network

15. The Lady Improper非分熟女

Hong Kong 香港

Director 導演：TSANG Tsui-shan 曾翠珊

Producer 監製：Polly YEUNG 楊寶文

Production Company 製作公司：River Vision Company Limited 河上風光有限公司

16. Letters

Norway 挪威, South Korea 南韓, Denmark丹麥

Directors 導演：Jero YUN 尹載皓, Marte VOLD

Producers 監製：Mille HAYNES, Marte VOLD, Jero YUN 尹載皓

Production Company 製作公司：K Plus Y

17. Lhamo And Skalbe拉姆與嘎貝

China 中國

Director 導演：Sonthar Gyal 松太加

Producer 監製：Sonam Rinchen Gyal 索南仁青加

Production Company 製作公司：Beijing Garuda Films & TV Culture Communication Co. Ltd.  

北京穹慶影視文化傳播有限責任公司

18. Lieutenant Yi易副官

Taiwan 台灣

Director 導演：René LIU 劉若英

Producers 監製：Sylvia CHANG 張艾嘉, Patricia CHENG Lai-chan 莊麗真

Production Company 製作公司：YinYi Studio Ltd. 英兒工作室有限公司

19. March April May

Thailand 泰國

Director 導演：Rooth TANG 陳澄律

Producer 監製： CHANG Chuti 張築悌

Production Company 製作公司：N/A

20. Napping Kid逆向誘拐

Hong Kong 香港

Director 導演：Amos WHY 黃浩然

Producer 監製： Teresa KWONG 鄺珮詩

Production Company 製作公司：dot 2 dot Production Limited 點對點製作有限公司

21. Never Die Again

South Korea 南韓

Director 導演：PARK Jung-bum 樸庭凡

Producer 監製： PARK Jung-bum 樸庭凡

Production Company 製作公司：Second Wind Film

22. The Point of No Return亡命之途

China 中國

Director 導演：LEE Yuhe 李雨禾

Producer 監製：LEE Yuhe 李雨禾

Production Company 製作公司：Yuhe Film Studio 雨禾電影工作室

23. Solitude

India 印度

Director 導演：Madhu MAHANKALI

Producers 監製：Madhu MAHANKALI, Roopa Devi MAHANKALI

Production Company 製作公司：Dhriti Media Pvt. Ltd.

24. The Third Wife (working title)

Vietnam 越南

Director 導演：NGUYEN Phuong Anh

Producer 監製：TRAN Thi Bich Ngoc

Production Companies 製作公司：An Nam Films, Three Colors Productions

25. Trains in the Night黑夜中行駛的火車

Hong Kong 香港

Director 導演：Adam WONG 黃修平

Producers 監製：Jacqueline LIU 廖婉虹, HAYASHI Kenji 林健嗣, 

FUKAZAWA Hiroshi (Associate Producer) 深澤寬 （副監製）

Production Companies 製作公司：Playhouse Limited 樂透社, 《a》Co., Ltd.

26. Vampire Diary屍奔日記

Hong Kong 香港

Directors 導演： Anthony YAN 甄栢榮, Hang CHIU 趙善恆

Producers 監製： HA Yu 夏雨, Mani MAN 文佩卿

Production Company 製作公司：mm2 Entertainment Hong Kong Limited

27. Warrior Of Love戰神

Singapore 新加坡

Director 導演：Derrick LUI 雷堅欽

Producers 監製： CHAN Pui Yin 陳佩然, Boris BOO 巫培雙, CHAN Yan Yan 陳恩蒽

Production Company 製作公司：SIMF Management Pte. Ltd. 新加坡綜合媒體基金

28. When the Waves are Gone

Philippines菲律賓

Director 導演：Lav DIAZ 拉夫‧狄亞茲

Producers 監製： Bianca BALBUENA, Bradley LIEW 廖忠权

Production Company 製作公司：Epicmedia Productions Inc.

2016 HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award Finalists

1.    Brothers 三哥

Malaysia 馬來西亞

Director 導演：Jong YU 于中中

Producers 監製：Jin ONG 王禮麟, Roland LEE 李治成

Production Company 製作公司：More Entertainment Sdn. Bhd. 摩爾娛樂有限公司

2. Coarse Tea, Plain Rice 粗茶淡飯

Hong Kong 香港

Director 導演：CHEUNG Suk-yee 張淑儀

Producer 監製：Trevor MORRIS 莫里斯

Production Company 製作公司：Pratyeka Pictures Limited

3. Man-Made Citizen人造公民

China 中國

Director 導演：LI Yang 李楊

Producers 監製：Moonlight SHANG 月光, Janet WU 吳妍妍

Production Company 製作公司： Bright East Film Inc.  北京東方天明電影有限責任公司

About The Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF)

The Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) is widely recognized as an established film financing platform in Asia. The HAF brings Asian filmmakers with upcoming film projects to Hong Kong for co-production ventures with top film financiers, producers, bankers, distributors and buyers. Attracting more than 1,000 filmmakers and financiers from at least 35 countries and regions, around 25 to 30 projects are selected annually to participate in the three-day event.

HAF has partnered with international organisations to provide a range of opportunities to participants. Partners include iQIYI (China), Fox International Productions (Greater China) (US), Cinemart (the Netherlands), Asian Project Market (South Korea), Independent Film Project (US), Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Taiwan), New Cinema Network (Italy) and others. Cash and in-kind awards to the value of around US$150,000 are made with support from Create Hong Kong and Film Development Fund among others.

Past participants include China's JIA Jiangke, JIANG Wen, LU Chuan and NING Hao; Hong Kong's Peter CHAN, Stanley KWAN, Ann HUI, Fruit CHAN and PANG Ho-cheung; Taiwan's TSAI Ming-Liang, WEI Te-Sheng, CHUNG Mong-Hong and Leon DAI; Japan's KORE-EDA Hirokazu, KUROSAWA Kiyoshi, KAWASE Naomi and IWAI Shunji; South Korea's PARK Chan-wook, KIM Jee-woon, BONG Joon-ho and IM Sang-soo; as well as Thailand's Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, Ekachai UEKRONGTHAM, Nonzee NIMIBUTR and Pen-ek RATANARUANG.

About The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Limited (HKIFFS)

Uniting the World through Film

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) is a charitable, non-profit and non-governmental organisation dedicated to the discovery and promotion of creativity in the art and culture of film.

Committed to the development of a vibrant film culture in Hong Kong and Asia, the Society organises two annual flagship events in March and April: “Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF)” and “Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF).”  “HKIFF Cine Fan”, a monthly screening programme features a variety of curated contemporary, retrospective and thematic showcases was also launched in April 2013.

Through its year-round programmes, the mission of the Society is to strengthen global appreciation of Asian and Chinese film culture and to promote inspiring films from around the world, enriching the cultural life of Hong Kong.

Passionately believing in the power of films to unite cultures and generations, the HKIFFS is devoted to giving thousands of film lovers around the region direct access to the world’s most inspired films all year round.