Yang Heng’s Silent Ghosts was awarded the Works-in-Progress prize at the close of this year’s virtual Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF, March 14-16).
The Hong Kong fantasy drama was chosen from 15 projects presented this week at HAF, which took place online for the third time this year due to ongoing pandemic restrictions.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Selected for its “originality and creativity,” the project received a cash award of $12,800. Produced by Yan Ni for No Chopsticks Pictures, the story centres on a tourist who follows the trail of a mysterious woman to the enigmatic town of Silent Ghosts. There, he meets men who claim to have met the woman but whose identity is different for them all.
Yang is known for features such as Lake August, which screened at Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2014, and Ghosts In The Mountains, which screened in Panorama at the Berlinale in 2017. Silent Ghosts was also chosen as one of five projects to be presented at Cannes in May.
The In-development Project (IDP) Award for a Hong Kong project went to The Stars The Sun The Moon, set as the debut feature of Hong Kong and New York-based director and cinematographer Colleen Kwok.
The story sees two primary school friends travel 20 years into the future, where one discovers the other has died. Kwok made a short of the same name in 2014. Producers are Stephen Lam and Sandy Yip for Production Avenue. Veteran producer Lam has credits that most recently include Ann Hui’s Our Time Will Come.
The IDP Award for a non-Hong Kong project went to China’s Not Found, from first time feature director Huang Ningwei. The story centres on a screenwriter in a slump who travels to a small town, not realising that three characters he created have come to life and are in search of their author.
This year’s IDP section featured 28 projects and both IDP prizes each included cash awards of $12,800.
At the 20th edition of HAF, a total of 14 cash and in-kind prizes were virtually awarded, including the new Taipei Film Commission Award, which was created to encourage co-production projects with talents or companies from the Taiwanese capital. This award went to Jun Li’s I Might Write About Us, a Hong Kong-Taiwan co-production, and includes a $10,000 prize.
The three-day event showcased 43 projects and more than 900 online meetings between the project teams and industry professionals were scheduled. This was almost double the number of meetings held since HAF moved online in 2020, according to the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS).
Despite the challenges brough by the pandemic, HKIFFS executive director Albert Lee acknowledged the support from all participating filmmakers and partners including Create Hong Kong, the Film Development Fund and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. “Your continuous involvement is crucial in motivating us to press on regardless,” he said at the virtual ceremony.
Full list of HAF 2022 award winners
IDP Award for a Hong Kong project
The Stars The Sun The Moon (HK)
Dir. Colleen Kwok
Pro. Stephen Lam, Sandy Yip
IDP Award for a non-Hong Kong project
Not Found (Mainland China)
Dir. Huang Ningwei
Pro. Liu Jiayin
WIP Award
Silent Ghosts (HK)
Dir. Yang Heng
Pro. Yan Ni
Taipei Film Commission Award
I Might Write About Us (HK-Tai)
Dir. Jun Li
Pro. Peter Yam, Stefano Centini
Wouter Barendrecht Award
A cash award of $6,400 is presented by the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation, Create Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Film Development Fund to a project by a director who is under 35 and who has not made more than three feature films
Don’t Cry, Butterfly (Vietnam)
Dir. Duong Dieu Linh
Pro. Tan Si En, Tran Thi Bich Ngoc
Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF) Award
An in-kind award – an invitation to participate in NAFF 2022 - is presented by the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.
The Cursed Land (Thai)
Dir. Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee
Pro. Nonzee Nimibutr
Udine Focus Asia Award
An in-kind award – an invitation to participate in Focus Asia 2022 – is presented by the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.
Don’t Cry, Butterfly (Viet)
Dir. Duong Dieu Linh
Pro. Tan Si En, Tran Thi Bich Ngoc
White Light Post-Production Award
Two in-kind awards with postproduction services valued at $15,000 each are presented by White Light Studio in Bangkok, Thailand.
Cubs (Indo)
Dir. Riri Riza
Pro. Mira Lesmana
A Room of His Own (Isr-It)
Dir. Matan Yair
Pro. Maya Fischer
HAF Goes to Cannes Programme
HAF and Marché du Film present market screening opportunities for five WIP projects at Cannes Film Festival in 2022.
A Room of His Own (Isr-It)
Dir. Matan Yair
Pro. Maya Fischer
Silent Ghosts (HK)
Dir. Yang Heng
Pro. Yan Ni
The Spark (India)
Dir. Rajesh S. Jala
Pro. Rajesh S. Jala, Prayas Deepti
The Sunny Side of the Street (HK)
Dir. Lau Kok Rui
Pro. Vinod Sekhar, Winnie Tsang, Soi Cheang, Peter Yam
The Vessel’s Isle (Mainland China)
Dir. Wang Di
Pro. Xu Ruijing
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