Editor

 Celebrating Asian Cinema Excellence with Finest Filmmakers  

The 15^th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum concluded today with the Awards Presentation Ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Filmmakers, leading film financiers and industry professionals from across the world attended to celebrate this HAF milestone, and the presentation of 14 awards that recognise the promising and potential of remarkable film projects.

Over the past three days, HAF attracted leading film financers, producers, distributors and buyers across the world, connecting them with talented filmmakers through business meetings and seminar, pitching and networking events: the newly launched Work-in-Progress Lab facilitated projects already in production to secure post-production funds, sales agents or film festival support; Operation Greenlight helped foster talented local directors to make their debut feature film; sponsored by iQIYI the seminar "New Opportunities in the Explosive Growth of Online Entertainment" invited respected industry leaders to share fruitful insights of latest market trends, and enriching content for on-line platforms.

Celebrating Asian Cinema Excellence

Over the years, HAF has been at the forefront in fostering quality movies and has nurtured a significant number of film projects generating critical acclaim and industry recognition. This year, the 14 award winners were selected from a total of 33 film projects across 15 countries and regions, featuring young emerging directors developing their first feature films. Many of the films are family-driven projects that touch on contemporary social issues, while some others give voice to minorities in society. One observable trend for example, is the increase in the number of women filmmakers.

The total value of the awards presented amounted to approximately HK$1,588,000 (US$204,600) in cash and value in-kind, thanks to the generous support of various sponsors and partners.

1. HAF Awards (Presented by Create HK, Hong Kong Film Development Fund and HAF)

Mr. Jerry LIU, Head of Create Hong Kong kicked off the ceremony by presenting two HAF Awards to Impossible Split (Hong Kong) and NARAtive Film 2017-2018 - Yuko (Japan) for Hong Kong Project and non-Hong Kong Project categories respectively. Each project will receive a cash prize of HK$150,000 (approx.US$19,300) in recognition of their originality and creativity.

2. iQIYI's Special Award (Presented by iQIYI)                                                              

HAF's Premium Sponsor for the third year in a row, iQIYI presented the iQIYI’s Special Award to The Patient (China), offering a cash award of HK$100,000 (approx.US$12,900) to encourage and support film talents from the Chinese speaking territories. 

3. mm2 Award (Presented by mm2 Asia Limited)                                                                                Forget You, Still Love You? (Hong Kong) was honoured the mm2 Award which aims to embrace Chinese-language film projects that exhibit good commercial and artistic quality. The winner will receive the cash award of HK$100,000 (approx.US$12,900).

4. HAF/FOX Project Award                                                                                                     (Presented by Fox Networks Group and Fox International Productions)

Established to strengthen the development of Chinese-language cinema, the HAF/FOX Project Award went to Drifting Lives (China). The winning project will receive cash award of US$10,000 (approx.HK$78,000) and a development contract with FOX.

5. Wouter Barendrecht Award                                                                                            (Presented by Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation, Create Hong Kong and Hong Kong Film Development Fund)

Dedicated to the memory of the late Wouter Barendrecht, the renowned film producer and one of the founders of HAF, the Wouter Barendrecht Award went to La Luna (Singapore). This cash award of HK$50,000 (approx.US$6,400) recognises a project by a director under 35 who has not made more than three feature films.

6. Paris Coproduction Village Award (Presented by Paris Coproduction Village)                              

The Asadas (Hong Kong) obtained the Paris Coproduction Village Award, and will be invited to participate in the Paris Coproduction Village event at the Champs-Elysèes Film Festival 2017 with sponsoring hospitality valued at Euro 4,000 (approx.HK$33,000).

7. Network of Asian Fantastic Films Award                                                                        (Presented by Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival)

The Network of Asian Fantastic Films Award was given to Femme Fatale (Japan) with sponsored hospitality of US$2,700 (approx.HK$20,900) to participate in the 2017 Network of Asian Fantastic Films project market, which will take place in July at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.

8. Wutianming Post-Production Award                                                                                (Presented by China Film Foundation–Wutianming Fund For Young Talents)

The Wutianming Post-Production Award is set up to foster young talent working on Chinese film projects. The award went to Rainbow Mountain (China) with sponsored post-production services at the National Animation Industry Park in Tianjin valued at RMB300,000 (approx. HK$340,000).

9. White Light Post-Production Award (Presented by White Light Studio)                                        

White Light Studio will sponsor two in-kind awards for selected projects from HAF and WIP Lab respectively, in order to promote cinematic innovation and promising Asian directors. The awards went to La Luna (Singapore) from HAF and Village Rockstars (India) from WIP Lab. Each project will be offered post-production services valued at US$15,000 (approx. HK$116,500) at their studio in Bangkok.

10. G2D Post-Production Award (Presented by G2D) 

G2D will sponsor two in-kind awards for I AM A BANANA (Singapore, Canada) from HAF and The Third Wife (Vietnam) from WIP Lab.  Each winning project will be sponsored US$15,000 (approx. HK$116,500) towards a sound package for a film including sound services in foley, sound design, dialogue editing and atmosphere sound.

11. Wanda WIP Lab Award (Presented by Wanda Pictures)

The new Wanda WIP Lab Award celebrates a creative and original Chinese-language feature film project. The cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,900) was awarded to Omotenashi (Taiwan, Japan).

12. "Hong Kong Goes to Cannes"  Shortlisted Projects

To help open the door to the international film community, HAF is proud to collaborate with Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes to present the “Hong Kong Goes to Cannes” program, and revealed the first round selection of four projects from the WIP Lab for presentation and pitching at the Cannes Film Festival in May, including Omotenashi, Third Wife, Village Rockstars and Echoes.

Mr. Roger GARCIA, Executive Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, said, “We are delighted to celebrate the 15^th anniversary milestone of HAF and we continue to seek out and provide new opportunities for filmmakers. We look forward to the continued growth – both creatively and commercially – of Asian cinema. HAF’s role in developing the cinemas of our region continues to underline Hong Kong’s position as a premier film project hub in Asia.”

HAF Projects Achieving Critical Acclaim

Over the years a significant number of HAF projects have been made into outstanding films that achieve global awards, critical acclaim and box office success. Recent successes at the Berlin Film Festival 2017 for example, include HUANG Ji and OTSUKA Ryuji's Foolish Bird (Special Mention, Generation 14plus section), Dechen Roder's Honeygiver Among the Dogs and YANG Heng's Ghost in the Mountains (Panorama section) which received recognition.

Other past highlights include KUROSAWA Kiyoshi’s Tokyo Sonata (Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2008); KIM Jee-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird (No. 1 box office in South Korea, 2008); Brillante MENDOZA’s Kinatay (Best Director, Cannes Film Festival 2009); Ann HUI’s Night and Fog (Busan International Film Festival 2009); WEI Te-sheng’s Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Best Feature Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Film Score, Best Sound Effects and Audience Choice Award, Golden Horse Awards 2011); Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL’s Cemetery of Splendour (Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2015); YANG Chao’s Crosscurrent (Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution, Berlin Film Festival 2016); Philip YUNG’s Port of Call (Best Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best New Performer and Best Cinematography, Hong Kong Film Awards 2016) and many others. 

For further project details, please explore: 

WIP Lab︰http://www.haf.org.hk/wip2017

Operation Greenlight︰https://www.haf.org.hk/operationgreenlight

Photos download︰goo.gl/VgwxXv

For more information about HAF, please visit our official website at http://www.haf.org.hk/ and HAF Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hafhkiffs/.

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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. Previous partners include iQIYI (China), Fox International Productions (Greater China) (US), Cinemart (the Netherlands), Asian Project Market (South Korea), 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.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Isentia

Winnie Ma                              Tel:  +852 3987 8135             E-mail: winnie.ma@isentia.com

Cherry Chan               Tel:  +852 3987 8134             E-mail: cherry.chan@isentia.com

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society

Colleen Cheng           Tel:  +852 2102 7362             E-mail: colleen_cheng@hkiff.org.hk

Appendix 1：The 15th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum Award List

1. HAF Award

HAF Award （Hong Kong Project）

Director：Tommy TOM Chung-sing

Producer：Adam WONG

Production Company：Picturethat Limited

Details詳情：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120181829_1624.pdf

2. iQIYI's Special Award 

Director：YANG Long

Producer ：ZHOU Jia

Production Company：Shenzhen Surprise Movie Co., Ltd.

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120182820_1654.pdf

3.  mm2 Award

Director：Kenneth LAI Siu-kwan, Paul SZE Pak-lam

Producer：TIN Kai-man, LAU Wing-tai

Production Company：Vow Production Limited

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120181612_1612.pdf

4. HAF/FOX Project Award 

Director：Danlly LI

Producer：Ray CHAN

Production Company：Kozmo Production Company Limited,

                                     YNTV Motion Magic Digital Studios Co., Ltd.

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project2/20170120183149_123.pdf

5. Wouter Barendrecht Award

Director：M. Raihan HALIM

Producer：Asra AMAN

Production Company：Papahan Films Pte. Ltd.

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120181916_1627.pdf

6. Paris Coproduction Village Award

Director：NAKANO Ryota

Producer：OGAWA Shinji

Production Company：Bridgehead Inc.

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120181442_1603.pdf

7. Network of Asian Fantastic Films Award

Director：MIYAKE Kyoko

Producer：Guillaume DE SEILLE

Production Company：Arizona Productions

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120181545_1609.pdf

8. Wutianming Post Production Award

Director：Degena Yun

Producer：ZHANG Yang

Production Company：Beijing Mailisi Film & Culture Co., Ltd.                                                                            

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120182929_1660.pdf

9. White Light Post-Production Award

White Light Post-Production Award（HAF Project）

Director：M. Raihan HALI

Producer：Asra AMAN

Production Company：Papahan Films Pte. Ltd.

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170120181916_1627.pdf

White Light Post-Production Award（WIP Lab Project）

Director：Rima DAS

Producer ：Rima DAS

Production Company：Flying River Films

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170214120847_79.pdf

10. G2D Post-Production Award

G2D Post-Production Award（HAF Project）

Director：Honey B SINGH

Producer：Mona SINGH, Gabrielle Kelly

Production Company：Honeylove Films

Details詳情：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/project/20170203181833_1681.pdf

G2D Post-Production Award（WIP Lab Project）

Director： NGUYEN Phuong Anh

Producer：TRAN thi Bich Ngoc

Production Company：An Nam Productions, Three Colour Productions

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170225103616_181.pdf

11. Wanda WIP Lab Award

Director： Jay CHERN

Producer：Jay CHERN, KITAGAWA Junichi

Production Company ：Epic Entertainment Co., Ltd. , Shochiku Studio Co., Ltd.

Details詳情：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170225103439_178.pdf

12. The first four “Hong Kong Goes to Cannes”Shortlisted Projects

Director： Jay CHERN

Producer：Jay CHERN, KITAGAWA Junichi

Production Company：Epic Entertainment Co., Ltd. , Shochiku Studio Co., Ltd.

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170225103439_178.pdf

Director： NGUYEN Phuong Anh

Producer：TRAN thi Bich Ngoc

Production Company：An Nam Productions, Three Colour Productions

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170225103616_181.pdf

Director：Rima DAS

Producer：Rima DAS

Production Company：Flying River Films

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170214120847_79.pdf

Director：Amikam KOVNER, Assaf SNIR

Producer：Yoni PARAN,  Keren MICHAEL,

Production Company：Dori Media Paran

Details：https://www.haf.org.hk/upload/files/wiplabproject/20170225103101_169.pdf