THE Hong Kong International Film Festival Society has shortlisted 15 work-in-progress (WIP) feature projects for the 23rd Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF23), including films of Malaysian director Chong Keat Aun and actor Jack Tan.
Mother Bhumi, directed by Chong, features a widowed farmer who lives peacefully with her children, but when a land dispute occurs, the mystery of her husband’s death begins to resurface.
Chong previously won HKIFF’s Firebird Award for Best Film for his 2023 film Snow in Midsummer and the Golden Horse award for Best New Director for 2020’s The Story of Southern Islet.
Meanwhile, Malaysian actor Jack Tan stars in Say My Name, another film that has been shortlisted for HAF23. Tan has shown his prowess as an actor in recent Malaysian films, particularly 2023’s tearjerker Abang Adik.
Directed by Liu Xing for her first feature, the Chinese-Hong Kong film Say My Name will revolve around a girl who impersonates an exchange student to start a fling with a rich boy, but quickly loses herself in her new identity.
The shortlisted projects will participate in two open pitch sessions at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 17 and 18, where the work-in-progress teams will be given an opportunity to take centre stage and present their projects, including a five-minute first look, to a key industry audience searching for original content.
Previously, two other Malaysian films were shortlisted for HAF23’s in-development project (IDP) category. These are Edmund Yeo’s The Age of Goodbyes and Kethsvin Chee’s Dead Tide.
