Festival
A Girl Unknown
Dir. Zou Jing
Chinese director Zou returns to Critics’ Week with her first feature, the script of which won the section’s Next Step Prize in 2024. A Girl Unknown tackles the sensitive topic of girls abandoned during China’s one-child policy. Across three chapters, it depicts the emotional scars of a young girl who has lived in three different families. The cast includes Li Gengxi, Shen Jiani, Zu Feng and Cao Ruofan. Zou won numerous awards for her first narrative short Lili Alone, including the Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for best short film at Critics’ Week in 2021.
Contact: Pyramide Films
Market
Afterpiece
Dir. Keane Wong
Produced by filmmaker Derek Yee, this directing feature debut is about a burnt-out stage director who embarks on a new project to rebuild his career, only to find he is shifting between reality and the world of his play. The cast includes Stephen Fung, Angela Yuen, Myolie Wu and Chrissie Chau. The project is supported by the Directors’ Succession Scheme, a funding programme from Hong Kong Film Development Council to nurture rising filmmakers through mentorship. Wong worked closely with Yee on I Am Somebody, Sword Master and In Search Of Lost Time.
Contact: Kathy Wong, Unlimited Production
Being Towards Death
Dir. Chen Sicheng
Chen’s latest film marks his first comedy about life, a departure from directing the hit Detective Chinatown franchise and thrillers such as Sheep Without A Shepherd and Lost In The Stars, which he executive produced. The film centres on a man who, after a failed suicide attempt, is sent to a ward for the terminally ill. There he discovers the courage to live among patients who remain joyful and fight for life. The cast is led by Jiang Long, Qi Xi, Yang Chaoyue and Wang Zichuan. The film opened in mainland China on May 1 during the Labour Day holiday.
Contact: Song Dian, As One Pictures
The Conjurer And The Kid
Dir. Wilson Yip
Previously titled The Dream, The Bubble And The Shadow, Yip’s latest is a change from his signature action-driven films such as Ip Man and Paradox. It is a drama about a magician who forms an unlikely friendship with a disabled child through magic and heals his own emotional wounds after losing his young family in an accident. Louis Koo, Eric Kot, Cecilia Choi and Jennifer Yu head the cast. Backers include One Cool Film Production, Lian Ray Pictures and Global Allied International Group.
Contact: Christy Choi, One Cool Pictures
Crossing
Dir. Xu Zhanxiong
Produced by Andrew Lau, this period war film depicts how strategy can redefine a battlefield. Through one river and four crossings, the story focuses on how the Red Army changed the course of war and history when encircled along the Chishui River. They chose to execute a series of manoeuvres instead of fighting their way out. The cast includes Liu Ye, Wang Lei and Yosh Yu. It is set for release on June 26. Xu’s directing credits include 2024’s Burning Stars and 2020’s Wild Grass.
Contact: Mandarin Motion Pictures
Dear You
Dir. Lan Hongchun
This family drama follows a debt-ridden man who travels to Thailand in search of his wealthy, long-absent grandfather. To his surprise, the latter has died and the money and letters sent home to his grandmother over the decades came from an unknown Thai woman. Usha Seamkhum (How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies) stars in the film, which opened on April 30 in mainland China and became the first Teochew-language film to hit the rmb100m ($14.7m) milestone. Backers are King Ant Pictures and Beijing Damai Entertainment Culture. Lan’s 2018 feature debut Proud Of Me was also a Teochew-language hit. Beijing Hugoeast Media handles world sales excluding Africa and select Asian territories.
Contact: Josie Wu, Beijing Hugoeast Media
From 100 Grams
Dir. Benny Lau
Presented by Ocean Park theme park and billed as Hong Kong’s first panda documentary, From 100 Grams follows an elderly giant panda who, after years of trying, miraculously gives birth to the city’s first locally born giant panda twins. The medical team struggles to nurse the cubs as their weight drops during the critical first week, and the animals’ stories are witnessed and shared by millions of Hongkongers who develop a deep emotional bond with the bears. A summer release is expected. Lau’s directing credits include 2018’s When Sun Meets Moon and 2022’s We Are Family.
Contact: Mandarin Motion Pictures
From Dawn To Dawn
Dir. Xisi Sofia Ye Chen
Chen’s first feature documentary recently won Visions du Réel’s grand jury prize. It is a personal project about her older brother, who for many years was a gangster in Spain’s Chinese community. Through her observations, she captures a man torn between criminal heritage, familial duty and a search for moral clarity. The Spain-France collaboration is produced by LaCima Producciones, The South Project and La Fabrica Nocturna. Chen is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and holds a masters in creative documentary from Pompeu Fabra University.
Contact: Parallax Films
The Fruitless Tree
Dir. Huang Gang
This Cantonese-language drama follows a reticent widower who finds a companion in his twilight years. His newly divorced daughter gives her blessing, but he cannot stop the community from spreading rumours until he finally steps forward to speak up during a funeral. Veterans Tai Bo and Nina Paw lead the cast, along with Nancy Wu and Carmen Soup. This marks the feature debut of Huang, who lives between Beijing and Guangzhou.
Contact: Grace Chan, Entertaining Power
Gan
Dir. Ruonan Jiang
This China-France documentary has been selected for the Docs-in-Progress platform at the Cannes market. The protagonist is a wildlife ranger, who was once a left-behind child and must now learn how to love and be present as a father for his family as he rescues a rare baby goat-antelope in the remote Sichuan mountains. It marks Jiang’s first feature documentary and is produced by RuonanJ Films and Oui Production.
Contact: Huihui Lou, Oui Production
Made In Yiwu
Dir. Rao Xiaozhi
The third instalment of the Cool Fish franchise reunites director Rao and producer Luca Liang, with Andy Lau joining the cast. It features a standalone story set partly in Naples, Italy where a Chinese gang is dragged into a war with the local mafia, setting off a series of misfortunes for a small business owner in Yiwu, China. Chen Jianbin and Karry Wang co-star. The film is scheduled for a Q4 release with Emperor Film and Entertainment (Beijing), Shenzhen Yi Yi Yi Yi Culture Media and Emperor Film Production among the backers.
Contact: Miriam Cheung, Emperor Motion Pictures
A Mighty Adventure
Dir. Toe Yuen
Adventure begins as a brave grasshopper, a curious spider and a free-spirited butterfly are swept from the forest into the city. This Hong Kong animation is a collaboration with Taiwan’s Zero One Film and Malaysia’s FlyStudio, blending CG animation with live-action footage shot in Taipei and Taichung. The story is told through expressive visuals and emotion, entirely without dialogue. The film received three nominations at last year’s Golden Horse Awards, winning best sound effects. Veteran Hong Kong director Yuen was an Annecy winner in 2003 for My Life As McDull.
Contact: Janice Chung, Golden Network Asia
Nezha’s Destiny
Dir. Colin Zhang
This fantasy animated feature reimagines a legendary myth through a modern lens, focusing on the human bond between Nezha and his father Li Jing. After losing his father in battle, Nezha transforms from a defiant child into a young hero who rises to protect the Three Realms. Producers are Max Tong and Sangar Chatchairgruang, with (Beijing) Poly Video Technology, (Wuxi) Always On Call Film & Television Culture and (Hangzhou) Tianming Zhizi and Media Technology among the backers. The project is on the inaugural slate of Hong Kong-based sales agent Blast Films International.
Contact: David Bauduin, Blast Films International
The Trier Of Fact
Dir. Calvin Tong
Starring Louis Koo, Eddie Peng and Raymond Lam, this action film follows an unethical police detective who joins forces with the technology crime division to take down a criminal gang. As the operation is deemed successful, it is only the start of a confrontation between social justice and the truth. Director Tong made his feature debut with 2023’s Bursting Point. Backers include Beijing Damai Entertainment Culture, One Cool Film Production and One Cool Square.
Contact: Christy Choi, One Cool Pictures