FEATURE HONG KONG
BREAKINGNEWS For the latest film business news see
ScreenDaily.com
Derek Tsang and Jimmy Wan Tsang (above right), who has worked as an actor, editor and assistant director, and screenwriter Wan (above left) joined forces last year to direct Lover’s Discourse, a portmanteau drama with overlapping characters in four separate stories. Produced by Pang Ho Cheung and backed by Irresistible Films, the romantic drama played several Asian festivals and won positive reviews. Pang is also producing the duo’s second film, a romantic comedy tentatively titled Lucuna, which is in post after shooting in Beijing. “Of course I’ll continue to make films that deal with local Hong Kong contents, but on the other hand Hong Kong is only a city, and as film-makers we should have our focus on the wider world,” says Tsang. Wang Chi Man, (852) 9210 6224
Ex Heiward Mak
Mak was only 23 years old when she wrote and directed her debut feature, High Noon, a Hong Kong version of the Eric Tsang-produced Taiwanese teen drama Winds Of September. She followed that by co-scripting Love In A Puff with Pang Ho Cheung and directing her second feature Ex for actor-producer
Chapman To. Ex, which follows a group of young people in Hong Kong, was praised for its tight structure and light but mature tone. She is working on a second project with To, DIVA, about two young female singers. Emperor Motion Pictures is selling the film, which stars real-life Canto-pop diva Joey Yung. “People think of Hong Kong as being a wealthy place with a lot of freedom, but there are lots of side stories that need to be told,” Mak says.
Heiward1984@hotmail.com
Freddie Wong A well-known film critic and festival programmer, Wong initially intended to be a producer — he produced Yu Lik Wai’s 1999 Love Will Tear Us Apart — but stepped up to script and direct his debut, The Drunkard, when he could not find the right talent to work on it. It took him several years to get the project, an adaptation of Liu Yichang’s 1960s novel, off the ground. “Local investors were worried it was too literary,” he explains. With seed money from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, he eventually rustled up the $500,000 budget from former classmates. The film garnered strong reviews at Vancouver and Pusan and was picked up by Media Asia for international sales. He is hoping to develop it into a trilogy.
fredkswong@yahoo.com.hk
Derek Kwok Kwok is white-hot after being tapped by Stephen Chow to direct a new instalment in the Chinese Odyssey series, which became a cult classic in the 1990s. He started out as an assistant director to Wilson Yip and drew acclaim for his first two features: edgy dramas The Pye-dog (2007) and The Moss (2008). He followed those with romantic fantasy Frozen and kung-fu parody Gallants, which he co-directed with Clement Cheng. That was enough to draw the attention of Hong Kong’s leading producers — Chow’s Chinese Odyssey project is scheduled to shoot this summer and Kwok is also developing gambling drama The Enchanter for Teddy Chen.
derekyabuki11@yahoo.com.hk
Wing Shya and Tony Chan Hot Summer Days, a romantic comedy directed by fashion photographer Shya (pictured right) and screenwriter Chan (left), combined Hong Kong and mainland elements and was a huge hit last year, grossing more than $20m. The film also marked the first Chinese-language production of Fox International Productions (FIP) which co-produced with Huayi Brothers. Hot Summer Days was Shya’s directorial debut though Chan, who studied in the US, had previously directed drama Combination Platter which won best screenplay at Sundance in 1993. They are now working on another project for FIP, called Love In Space, which will be co- produced by Huayi and Sundream. Alan Zhou, Huayi Brothers,
(86) 135 0117 3693 n 40 Screen International at the Cannes Film Festival May 13, 2011
Glamorous Youth Philip Yung
Yung started out as an assistant director and line producer and is also a film critic writing for local papers and magazines. After producing a Macau-set documentary called Gold Rush, he struck out with debut feature Glamorous Youth in 2009. The independently financed drama, which follows a father and son relationship, was praised for its
visual style and exploration of the realities beneath the surface gloss of Hong Kong. He is now developing his second feature, Port Of Call, with the same production company, Chang Wen’s Digital Jungle Production. Based on the true story of the murder of a young prostitute in Hong Kong, the project took the HAF Award for best Hong Kong film project at this year’s Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF).
yungtszkwong@yahoo.com.hk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100