HAF21 Shortlists 28 In-Development Projects And 15 Work-In-Progress Projects For First Physical Edition Since 2019
- Written by Media Outreach
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 27 February 2023 - The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) unveils 28 in-development projects and 15 work-in-progress projects for the 21st Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF21). 
HAF21 will take place as a physical, in-person event for the first time since 2019 from 13 - 15 March at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in conjunction with the 27th Hong Kong Film & TV Market (FILMART). The 28 in-development projects, covering a potpourri of genres – horror, fantasy, romance, family drama and animation, are shortlisted from 244 submissions from 38 countries and regions. They include seven projects from Hong Kong and eight that passed through HAF Film Lab. Alongside projects from acclaimed filmmakers and producers such as Arsalan AMIRI, Anthony CHEN, Fruit CHAN, Jakrawal NILTHAMRONG, LIN Yu-Hsien, NAI An, Nader SAEIVAR, Teddy Robin, and TIAN Zhuangzhuang are also 14 by budding first-time directors. The 15 shortlisted work-in-progress projects include three from Hong Kong and eight feature debuts. Emerging and established actors from across Asia, including Fish Liew, Austin Lin, Ma Chih-Hsiang, Matsuda Ryuhei, Wang Xuebing, Wu Kang-Ren, and Zu Feng, top-line many projects. Renowned filmmakers such as Stanley Kwan, Mai Meksawan, and Ram Krishna Pokharel also featured prominently as producers. HAF introduced the work-in-progress section in 2017 for later-stage projects seeking completion funding, post-production partners, distributors and sales agents, and film festival support, complementing its main programme, which was designed specifically for projects in the pre-production or development stages. "We look forward to welcoming back filmmakers, industry guests, and friends from the trade media after three virtual editions of the HAF," HKIFFS Industry Office Director Jacob WONG said. "And HAF21 will again showcase itself as an invaluable platform for new talents and upcoming projects from Asia." In-Development Projects (IDP)HAF Film Lab Projects HAF Film Lab offers support to new and emerging Chinese-language filmmakers through open lectures, training programmes, and one-on-one bespoke consultations. HAF21 is excited to feature eight Chinese-language projects developed by young filmmakers at last editions' HAF Film Lab. They include the winners of the fifth Film Lab's three script service awards: TANG Peiyan's A Better Tomorrow, a coming-of-age drama produced by Anthony CHEN (Ilo Ilo); Frankie LEE's Kapok, a drama about a woman burdened by work and family duties who returns to her hometown to find solace, to be produced by Fruit CHAN (Three Husbands); and The Only Way Outdirected by YEUNG Leung-chuen and produced by Jun LI (Drifting), about five lost souls in search of a way out. Other Film Lab alumni include Hugo in the Pigpen by SHEN Sheng-Ting and SHIH Jing-Ting, a Taiwan-US co-production about a boy who raises a pig with a human body; GUAN Tian's The Poison Cat, produced by YANG Chao (Crosscurrent), is about an enslaved woman whose fate entwines with an evil spirit; FAN Ka-chun's Stair-away, produced by Teddy Robin (The First Girl I Loved), revolves around a courier, a father searching for his lost son, and the missing head of a girl's corpse; and The Walking Bird by ZHANG Hanyi (HKIFF40 Firebird Award winner with Life After Life) follows two siblings on a bird hunting adventure. "We are delighted to bring these projects from Film Lab to the developmental stages within our HAF ecosystem," Jacob WONG said. Personal Stories and Adaptations Two HAF21 projects are drawn from the filmmakers' personal experiences, while award-winning Chinese-language novels inspire another two. In The Fruit, produced by Marco MÜLLER, former festival director of Venice, Locarno and Pingyao, director LI Dongmei(Mama, The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award of the Göteborg Film Festival) tracks the joy and sadness of a woman through pregnancy and miscarriage. In The Last Haven, producer-turned-director ZHANG Jun follows a woman moving back in with her parents after a divorce, only to open old wounds. ZHANG Lu (Yanagawa) produces. Based on a novel by the late LEE Wei-Jing, The Mermaid's Tale by Norris WONG (My Prince Edward, Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Director winner) is about a woman searching for a perfect ballroom dancing partner. While ZHAO Jin's directorial debut, Non-fiction Stories, adapted from WANG Zhanhei's novel, examines the hardship of the young working class through the life of a delivery rider. NAI An (The Shadow Play) produces. Love and Scam Love and scam form the central theme of several HAF21 projects. A Divorce by Jevons AU (Trivisa) looks at how a fake divorce turns real when love and trust disappear. Family of Crooksby LAI Kuo-An (whose A Fish Out of Water world premiered in Toronto) is about a family of street opera troupe feigning madness in an insurance scam. The Marriage...
HAF21 will take place as a physical, in-person event for the first time since 2019 from 13 - 15 March at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in conjunction with the 27th Hong Kong Film & TV Market (FILMART). The 28 in-development projects, covering a potpourri of genres – horror, fantasy, romance, family drama and animation, are shortlisted from 244 submissions from 38 countries and regions. They include seven projects from Hong Kong and eight that passed through HAF Film Lab. Alongside projects from acclaimed filmmakers and producers such as Arsalan AMIRI, Anthony CHEN, Fruit CHAN, Jakrawal NILTHAMRONG, LIN Yu-Hsien, NAI An, Nader SAEIVAR, Teddy Robin, and TIAN Zhuangzhuang are also 14 by budding first-time directors. The 15 shortlisted work-in-progress projects include three from Hong Kong and eight feature debuts. Emerging and established actors from across Asia, including Fish Liew, Austin Lin, Ma Chih-Hsiang, Matsuda Ryuhei, Wang Xuebing, Wu Kang-Ren, and Zu Feng, top-line many projects. Renowned filmmakers such as Stanley Kwan, Mai Meksawan, and Ram Krishna Pokharel also featured prominently as producers. HAF introduced the work-in-progress section in 2017 for later-stage projects seeking completion funding, post-production partners, distributors and sales agents, and film festival support, complementing its main programme, which was designed specifically for projects in the pre-production or development stages. "We look forward to welcoming back filmmakers, industry guests, and friends from the trade media after three virtual editions of the HAF," HKIFFS Industry Office Director Jacob WONG said. "And HAF21 will again showcase itself as an invaluable platform for new talents and upcoming projects from Asia." In-Development Projects (IDP)HAF Film Lab Projects HAF Film Lab offers support to new and emerging Chinese-language filmmakers through open lectures, training programmes, and one-on-one bespoke consultations. HAF21 is excited to feature eight Chinese-language projects developed by young filmmakers at last editions' HAF Film Lab. They include the winners of the fifth Film Lab's three script service awards: TANG Peiyan's A Better Tomorrow, a coming-of-age drama produced by Anthony CHEN (Ilo Ilo); Frankie LEE's Kapok, a drama about a woman burdened by work and family duties who returns to her hometown to find solace, to be produced by Fruit CHAN (Three Husbands); and The Only Way Outdirected by YEUNG Leung-chuen and produced by Jun LI (Drifting), about five lost souls in search of a way out. Other Film Lab alumni include Hugo in the Pigpen by SHEN Sheng-Ting and SHIH Jing-Ting, a Taiwan-US co-production about a boy who raises a pig with a human body; GUAN Tian's The Poison Cat, produced by YANG Chao (Crosscurrent), is about an enslaved woman whose fate entwines with an evil spirit; FAN Ka-chun's Stair-away, produced by Teddy Robin (The First Girl I Loved), revolves around a courier, a father searching for his lost son, and the missing head of a girl's corpse; and The Walking Bird by ZHANG Hanyi (HKIFF40 Firebird Award winner with Life After Life) follows two siblings on a bird hunting adventure. "We are delighted to bring these projects from Film Lab to the developmental stages within our HAF ecosystem," Jacob WONG said. Personal Stories and Adaptations Two HAF21 projects are drawn from the filmmakers' personal experiences, while award-winning Chinese-language novels inspire another two. In The Fruit, produced by Marco MÜLLER, former festival director of Venice, Locarno and Pingyao, director LI Dongmei(Mama, The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award of the Göteborg Film Festival) tracks the joy and sadness of a woman through pregnancy and miscarriage. In The Last Haven, producer-turned-director ZHANG Jun follows a woman moving back in with her parents after a divorce, only to open old wounds. ZHANG Lu (Yanagawa) produces. Based on a novel by the late LEE Wei-Jing, The Mermaid's Tale by Norris WONG (My Prince Edward, Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Director winner) is about a woman searching for a perfect ballroom dancing partner. While ZHAO Jin's directorial debut, Non-fiction Stories, adapted from WANG Zhanhei's novel, examines the hardship of the young working class through the life of a delivery rider. NAI An (The Shadow Play) produces. Love and Scam Love and scam form the central theme of several HAF21 projects. A Divorce by Jevons AU (Trivisa) looks at how a fake divorce turns real when love and trust disappear. Family of Crooksby LAI Kuo-An (whose A Fish Out of Water world premiered in Toronto) is about a family of street opera troupe feigning madness in an insurance scam. The Marriage...