20 MAY2017

HongKongGoes toCannes

INTRODUCTION

To help open the door to the international film community, the Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum is proud to collaborate with Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes to present the “Hong Kong Goes to Cannes” program, and bring the four projects from the Work-in-Progress Lab (WIP Lab) for presen-tation and pitching at the Cannes Film Festival in May, including Echoes, Omotenashi, The Third Wife and Village Rockstars. The newly launched WIP Lab is a vital extension of the services that HAF currently provides and aims to facilitate projects already in production to secure post-production funds, sales agents or film festival support.

Palais K – J.L. Bory

4 - 6pm, 20 May (Saturday) 2017

Place

Time

SCREENING INFO

Echoes is a film about love, although it is disguised as a detective story. Underneath the mystery-like plot and the atmosphere of suspense (listening, tracking, cross-cues, revenge), the real enigma the film seeks to explore is that of Avner’s relationship with his wife, Ella. Our film is about a man who loses his wife, but this loss enables him for the first time to truly know her.

Avner’s journey towards a new understanding of his wife, and who she really was, in fact, a journey between two opposite worlds. On the one end – Avner’s world: rational, factual, certain, cause and effect. On the other end – Ella’s world: emotional, intuitive, sensual, and uncertain.

The tension between those two conflicting worlds is very much present in visual imagery of the film, specifically the point where those two conflicting collide: Man-made vs nature. The geometric vs organic. Order vs disorder.

This tension is also present in Avner’s workplace, the highway tunnel he digs through the mountain. It is a place of constant struggle between man and nature, between heavy machinery and the earth itself. The tunnel is obviously a metaphor for revealing what was hidden, for the act of exposing. But it is also a passage. A journey from one place to the other. From his world, to hers.

By the end of his journey Avner is a changed man. In her absence Ella has changed him. But the tragedy is that when he finally understands her, she is no longer there.

SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Echoes

Avner (45) suspects his wife Ella (42) is having an affair. Being the man he is, an engineer, a man of reason and hard facts - he needs to know before he takes action. So he secretly records her telephone conversations, turning into a spy in his own house. Following Ella’s sudden death in a car accident, Avner searches for her lover’s identity, listening to the tapes again and again. He becomes more and more engrossed with the investigation instead of being there for his children, Daphne (12) and Omer (9). But while searching for one thing, he discovers another: The woman he listens to is a stranger to him, so very different from the one he thought he knew. He tries to under-stand that woman, to decode their relationship, and most of all he needs to know: Why? He follows the footsteps she left behind her, in a journey that will finally lead him to her lover, Micah (45). But the confrontation with Micah does not offer any sort of resolution for Avner. On the contrary – the more he knows, the less he understands. Avner returns to the tapes, hearing Ella’s voice for one last time. He is willing to forgive now, he can let her go. He will have to accept the void she left inside him.

Israel

90 mins | Drama, Suspense | Hebrew

Amikam KOVNER

Director and screenwriter, and a graduate of Tel Aviv University’s Film Department. His short film, Scar (2005), was screened in dozens of film festivals, sold to PBS network in the US, and won the Kodak Award for excellence. His thesis film, The Home Leave (2008), was screened at numerous festivals and won awards and honorable mention. His documentary, First Kiss (2006), was broadcast on Israel’s channel 2. His debut feature film Haven (2014) was premiered at the Moscow Film Festival 2014.

Assaf SNIR

Director and screenwriter who graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School-Jerusalem in 2011. During his studies, Snir wrote and directed three short films, which have been screened at local and international film festivals. In 2009, Snir was selected as a participant of “Breaking Boundaries,” an international short film project funded by the Goethe institute and EVZ Stiftung, and in 2013 he participated in “Script Station,” the Berlinale Talent Campus’s script development workshop. Echoes will be Snir’s first feature film.

Yoni PARAN

Founder CEO and lead producer has over 15 years’ experience in production and media industry. Majoring in top end series, and daily drama. Recent credits includes: 4 seasons of the TV series Avoda Aravit (aka Arab labor) and The Writer, for Keshet TV and Channel 1 which was premiered at the Drama Series Days, Berlin Film Festival 2016. Both TV series had been written by Sayed Kashua. Paran also produced international TV hits such as Split and NY.

Keren MICHAEL

Michael is handling project’s development and financing. Recent credits include nomination for Cannes with Self Made (2014) by Shira Geffen and The Wanderer (2010) by Avishai Sivan. Under DMP she was handling Israeli blockbusters as Galis - the Journey for Astra (2014), and fantasy all family film Abulele (2015). Next films to be produced - Let it be morning (2017), a cinematic adaptation to Sayed Kashua’s novel, written and to be directed by Eran Kolirin - coproduction with Film du poisson – France; and The Non-conformists (2017) by Eliran Malca, a political drama about the election campaigns for the first religious political party in Israel.

DIRECTORS PRODUCERS

CONTACT

CONTACT PERSONKeren MICHAEL

PRODUCTION COMPANYDori Media Paran

ADDRESSCommunication Center, Neve Ilan, Israel 90850

TEL+972 54 4811007

EMAILdorimediaparan@gmail.com

I wanted to make a film that reflects the conflict between my generation and my parents’ generation. As a child from an immigrant family, the American culture I grew up in was vastly different than my parents. Adding to the generation gap between us, there was a culture gap. Communication between us became increasingly difficult as time passed. It wasn’t until I moved back to Taipei for my film studies that I became reacquainted with the culture that I had come from, but had long forgotten. But I quickly realized that just becoming reacquainted wasn’t enough, embedded in me were biases and habits that I had grown up with and were accustomed to. This difference in cultural thinking and experiences created conflicts everywhere I went, in my work life and personal life.

As our world gets smaller and globalization is inevitable, we all are forced to face the problem my parents and I are still facing. Different cultures, different perspectives and different generations of experiences are forced to work together because the world is becoming borderless whether we like it or not. No matter the conflicts, we all are searching for the same thing, a better, happier and more hopeful life with the people we love. However, the only way we can succeed is if we learn from each other, listen to each other, are patient with each other, and think of what others needs first, before our own. The dangers of not doing so, might be a life filled with regret, which I am sure, no matter what age we are at, we would like to avoid.

SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

The term “omotenashi” in Japanese describes the virtue of traditional Japanese hospitality. The story in Omotenashi began in Mingyueguan (The Bright Moon Hotel) was a Japanese-style hotel in the suburbs of Kyoto. It had a beautiful lake view and traditional Japanese feel to it. But because it was old and located in a remote area, there were hardly any guests. At this particular moment, however, the Mingyueguan, which was having a hard time even surviving, was bought up by a construction company owner in Taipei, Charles. Charles, an old friend of the previous owner of Mingyueguan, sends his son Jacky to Kyoto to supervise the renovation project for the hotel. Jacky, though, just wants to take the opportunity to get back together with his ex-girlfriend Naoko and to find a way to secretly sell the money-losing hotel.

When Jacky arrives at the hotel, he finds out that besides the innkeeper Mitsuko and her only daughter Rika, an otaku boy Bohao from Taiwan also works here in exchange for accommodation. Keeping it secret from others, Jacky meets Naoko, only to find out the ex-girlfriend he can’t get over is going to get married. To let Naoko see his growth, Jacky whimsically proposes to change Mingyueguan into a wedding venue to hold Naoko’s dream wedding. At that moment, Charles and Bohao’s mother Tiffany also come to Japan separately. Upon hearing about Jacky’s renovation proposal, they all become excited and support the idea. Only Rika, who didn’t get along well with Jacky from the beginning, thinks there is something fishy and suspects that he has other purposes. The innkeeper Mitsuko suggests that the three of them go learn “omotenashi” from the master Kimura sensei, who believes hospitality is more than good service, it’s a state of being, selfless and with deep purpose.

Taiwan, Japan

100 mins | Comedy, Drama, Romance | English, Japanese, Mandarin

Omotenashi

Jay CHERN

In 2006, Jay Chern graduated summa cum laude from the film program at the University of Texas at Arlington with his thesis short winning Best Film at the University’s annual film festival. In 2007, he returned to Taipei to become reacquainted with a culture he had long forgotten and improve his Chinese. He was accepted to the directing program at Taipei National University of the Arts, Graduate School of Filmmaking. In Taiwan, he has crewed on many award-winning films and is proficient not only as a director, but also as a cinematographer, lighting director, editor and assistant director. In 2011-2012 he directed and shot his thesis short Thief, which won Best Short Film at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards, Best Director at the Golden Bell Awards, Best Asian Short at Tokyo’s Short Shorts Film Festival and was invited to many international film festivals. In 2013 he shot for director Mami Sunada on the defining documentary of master animator Miyazaki The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness. In 2014 he wrote, directed and shot his first 90 min tv film Dawn/Spring, which was nominated for Six Golden Bell Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script, Best Cinematography, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

KITAGAWA Junichi

Kitagawa is a president of Shochiku Film Studio Co., Ltd. (Kyoto, Japan) and a Chairman of Shochiku MediaWorX Inc. (Tokyo, Japan). Kitagawa’s lifelong career with Shochiku Co., Ltd. includes distributing Academy Award-nominated (Best Foreign Language Film) Yoji Yamada’s The Twilight Samurai (2002) and Academy Award- winning (Best Foreign Language Film) Yojiro Takita’s Departures (2008) and also participated in the production of Katsuhide Motoki’s 10 Promises to My Dog (2008) among others and is an executive producer known for Happily Ever After (2007), Walking My Life (2007), and the series A Sower of Seeds (2012-present).

DIRECTOR PRODUCERS

Jay CHERN (also director)

CONTACT

CONTACT PERSONJay CHERN

PRODUCTION COMPANYEpic Entertainment Co., Ltd.

ADDRESS3F., No.268, Sec. 2, Fuxing S. Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

TEL+886 928 096 358

EMAILtiandastudios@gmail.com

The inspirations for The Third Wife have surrounded me all my life. Many of the women in my family lived through both the French Indochina War and the Vietnam War. The stories I inherited were always filled with life-and-death situations. The characters in my film, especially the three wives, are drawn from a collection of true stories and real people.

May is desperate to have a son because the child leads to status, power and safety. What she does not realise is that love eventually causes these desires to become mundane and meaningless. May’s growth as a sexual being is subtle but also significant. May’s relation-ship with the second wife, Xuan, and her desire for Xuan attest to the shades of intimacy women have with themselves and with each other. Same-sex love was more of a taboo than sexual violence and even abortion. I wanted to look at how the foundation of our morality undergoes metamorphoses through the ages and how these reflect the differences in gender expectation in the period.

This story is not only about how the women are thwarted by a patriarchal society. Even though it might have been to a lesser degree, the men of the period also suffered from severe restrictions of personal freedom. A chauvinistic society hurts everyone, men and women both.

The theme of escape and transformation is prevalent in my story, and I hope to convey this not just through characters and plot but also through imagery. Throughout the film, characters find ways to leave the imposing constriction of the house by appealing to nature. Unfortunately, they are never entirely successful.

SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

In late 19th-century rural Vietnam, 16-year-old May is given away in an arranged marriage. She becomes the third wife to her husband, Hung, a man brought up to believe that power is about control. After the violent wedding night, May learns that she can only gain status by asserting herself, not just as a sexual being, but also as a woman who can and will give birth to a male child.

May’s hope to change her situation turns into a real and tantalising possibility when she becomes pregnant.

However, the path towards security is fraught with danger when May starts to develop an attraction for Xuan, the second wife. May discovers that Xuan is having an affair with her husband’s firstborn, Son. This both excites and frightens her. Xuan’s beauty and freedom, especially in nature, draws May like a moth to the flame. The affair comes to a breaking point when May’s husband decides to find his son a young wife, also via an arranged marriage.

May grows close to Son and is sympathetic to his heartbreak, because she is also harbouring forbidden love for the same woman. When May cannot contain her feelings any longer and confesses how she feels to Xuan, the rejection devastates her. On the day of Son’s wedding, we see that the new bride, Tuyet, is younger than May and is even more terrified. Rejected by both Son and her new family, the young girl hangs herself.

The night Tuyet dies, May goes into labour. She gives birth to a baby girl and finds herself lost amidst the preparation of the funeral. May realises she must make a choice to either carry on in silence and safety or forge a way towards personal freedom, the price for which may be greater than her own life.

The ThirdWife (Working title)

Vietnam

100-120 mins | Drama |Vietnamese

NGUYEN Phuong Anh

Nguyen Phuong Anh (aka Ash Mayfair) is an award-winning writer-director who divides her time between New York and Vietnam. She was born in Vietnam and educated in the UK and the US. She received a BA from the University of Oxford in English Literature and a post-graduate degree from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London for theatre directing. Her foray into directing for the screen began in 2006, when her short The Convent Threshold won Best Student Short at the Oxford Film Festival in the UK. She has made several short films since then, all of which have been screened at numerous film festivals in the US and internationally.

TRAN thi Bich Ngoc

Tran thi Bich Ngoc graduated from Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema in 1998. Since then, she has produced and gained tremendous experience in Vietnam’s film industry. She is the producer of Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (2014), directed by Phan Dang Di, was selected for official competition at the Berlin International Film Festival 2015. The film The Third Wife, was presented at the 14th HAF and won the HAF Award for Non- Hong Kong project. Her ambition is to support Vietnamese filmmakers and help bring Vietnamese cinema to the world.

DIRECTOR PRODUCER

CONTACT

CONTACT PERSONTRAN thi Bich Ngoc

PRODUCTION COMPANYAn Nam Productions

ADDRESSKumho Asiana Plaza, 13th floor, 39 Le Duan Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

TEL+84 91 3591111

EMAILtbn1977@gmail.com /ngoc@annamproductions.com.vn

I grew up in a remote village called Chhaygaon in the remote state of Assam in India. Life back then was harsh. It continues to be so today.

Three years back, while shooting for my first film, Man With The Binoculars, which I also shot in my village, I established in regular contact with these village kids and decided to tell their story, which was also my story.

When I look back on these rich experiences, I am awed by the activities that kids have to perform, something not even in the imaginations of urban kids.

Everything has been shot under real conditions: the activities of the young girl Dhunu and the band of boys she hangs out with and their mischief was shot in real rains and floods.

Since there was less funding, I completed shooting entirely on my own from camera to direction and production. My cousin Mallika and the children acting in the film helped me throughout. The children now long for my arrival, as I shuttle between Mumbai & my village Chhaygaon. They race up to take note of the next day’s shooting schedule and there are times when they drag me from bed to catch the first light of sunrise!

SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Dhunu, a free spirited 10 year old girl lives with her mother in a remote village of Assam. She dreams of owning a Guitar and learning how to play music. Dhunu fights the local stereotypes of what a girl should be doing and forms a band with a group of local boys and christens themselves the ‘Rockstars’. However, as the initial enthusi-asm dies down, her friends get distracted and drop out of the group. Dhunu continues to stay focused and fights for her dream.

India

85 mins | Drama |Assamese

VillageRockstars

Rima DAS

Self-taught film writer, producer, and director. She was born and raised in a small village in Assam (North East India) and commutes between Mumbai and Assam. She has written and directed short films and documentaries. Her debut film Antardrishti (aka Man With The Binoculars) (2016) was the official selection for two of the top film festivals in the world: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and Jio MAMI Mumbai Film festival 2016.

Rima DAS (also director)

DIRECTOR PRODUCER

CONTACT

CONTACT PERSONRima DAS

PRODUCTION COMPANYFlying River Films

ADDRESS303, Wing-B, Bridge, 3rd Cross Lane, Lokhandwala, Andheri (w), Mumbai, India

TEL+91 75 06 310048

EMAILrima.films@gmail.com

Widely recognised as one of the most important film financing platforms in Asia, the HAF brings primarily Asian filmmakers with upcoming projects to Hong Kong for co-production ventures with top film financiers, producers, bankers, distributors and buyers. Attended by 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.

HONG KONG - ASIAFILM FINANCING FORUM (HAF)

Mid August 2017Submission Open

Late October 2017Submission Close

Late January 2018Project Announcement

19 - 21 March 2018The 16th Hong Kong - AsiaFilm Financing Forum

HAF 2018 IMPORTANT DATES

RECENT SUCCESS

HAF 2015 Wolf and SheepSHAHRBANOO Sadat

DENMARK | FRANCE | SWEDEN | AFGHANISTAN

Art Cinema Award, Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes 2016

Locarno International Film Festival 2016

HAF 2015 Foolish BirdHUANG Ji, OTSUKA Ryuji

CHINA

Special Mention of the Generation 14plus International Jury, Berlin Film Festival 2017

HAF 2011 CrosscurrentYANG Chao

CHINA

Best Cinematography Award and Best Sound Effects, Golden Horse Awards 2016

Best Sound Award, Asian Film Awards 2017

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution, Berlin Film Festival 2016

HAF 2015 Ghost in the MountainsYANG Heng

CHINA

Panorama, Berlin Film Festival 2017

CHINAJIANG Wen, JIA Zhangke, GU Changwei, ZHANG Yuan, LU Chuan, ZHANG Yang, LIU Fengdou, NING Hao, LI Hongqi, LOU Ye, SHENG Zhimin, LI Ruijun, XU Jinglei

HONG KONGPeter CHAN, Stanley KWAN, Ann HUI, Fruit CHAN, Teddy CHEN, Wilson YIP, Clara LAW, Mabel CHEUNG, PANG Ho-cheung, Dante LAM, Adam WONG, Barbara WONG, CHUI Tien-you, KWOK Tze- kin, Ruby YANG

TAIWANTSAI Ming-Liang, WEI Te-Sheng, Leon DAI, CHANG Tso-Chi, SU Chao-Pin, LEE Kang-Sheng, CHUNG Mong-Hong, Arvin CHEN

JAPANSUZUKI Seijun, KORE-EDA Hirokazu, KUROSAWA Kiyoshi, IWAI Shunji, MIIKE Takashi, YUKISADA Isao, NAKATA Hideo, SABU, KAWASE Naomi, TEZKA Macoto, SUGAWARA Hiroshi, KANEKO Shusuke

SOUTH KOREAPARK Chan-wook, BONG Joon-ho, PARK Kwang-su, HUR Jin-ho, KIM Jee-woon, NA Hong-jin, E J-yong, IM Sang-soo, LEE Yoon-ki, SHIN Dong-il

THAILANDYongyoot THONGKONGTOON, Nonzee NIMIBUTR, Pen-ek RATANARUANG, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, Ekachai UEKRONGTHAM, Lee CHATAME-TIKOOL

VIETNAM, INDIA AND ISRAELPHAN Dang Di, BUI THAC Chuyen, Sidharth SRINIVASAN, Santosh SIVAN, Yula GIDRON

THE PHILIPPINES, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE AND INDONESIABrillante MENDOZA, HO Yuhang, Chris CHONG Chan Fui, TAN Chui Mui, Kelvin TONG, Nia DINATA

PAST HAFFILMMAKERS

The HAF has strong connections with renowned film production and distribution companies worldwide that actively participate in the annual event in search of co-production venture and financing opportunities. Major companies include:

USA/CANADABeast Media Group, Ivanhoe Pictures, Echelon Talent Management Inc., Oration Films, Story Mining & Supply Co., Visit Films and Ytinifni Pictures

EUROPEDoc & Film International, Films Distribution, Festival Scope, French Embassy, Indie Sales Company, Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes, Memento Films International, MK2, Paris Coproduction Village, Premium Films, Reboot Films, Reel Suspects, Urban Distribution International, Versatile and Wide Management, Atera Films, Berlin Film Festival, Cinemart International Film Festival Rotterdam, Five Flavours Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, M-appeal, Picture Tree International, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, The Match Factory, Tucker Film, Venice International Film Festival and Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation

UKLionsgate, Plaza Mayor Company Ltd., Soho Films International, Umedia International and Wild Bunch

JAPANAll Nippon Entertainment Works, Be Wiz Inc., JMP, Laurel Films Internation-al, Tokyo International Film Festival and Wa Entertainment, Inc.

SOUTH KOREA9ers Entertainment, Buchon International Fantastic Film Festival (NAFF), BUSAN International Film Festival (APM), Collective Phase One, Hanmac Culture Corporation and MONEFF

EAST & SOUTHEAST ASIACinevest Media Group, Da Huang Pictures Sdn Bhd, Docskool / Clinik.Kathmandu, Fire y Films Pte Ltd., Five Star Production Co., Ltd., G2D Co., Ltd., HTV Entertainment Ltd., JKD Pictures, Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd, MM2 Entertainment, Sahamongkol Film Entertainment Co., Ltd., Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association, SIMF Management Pte Ltd., Taipan Films and White Light Studio

CHINA1905 Pictures, Beijing 18 Artiste Management Co., Ltd., Beijing East Light Film Co., Ltd., Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co., Ltd., Beijing Gootime Media Co., Ltd., Beijing Huaxia Starzw, Beijing Jiaying Pictures Co., Ltd., Black n, Blueberry Pictures, C2M Media, China Film Foundation - Wu Tian Ming Film Fund for Young Talents, China Film (Shanghai) International Media Co., Ltd., CJ E&M (China), Davelui Advertising Co., Ltd., Donghai Film Group, Entgroup, Evergrande Pictures, Fiction 9 Inc., Fushan Features, GoLive TV Tech Co., Ltd., Heng Ye Film Distribution Co., Ltd., Heyi Picture Inc., Huace Media (Tianjin) Ltd., Huayi Brothers International Ltd., Huoli Tianxing Pictures Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd., iQIYI Motion Pictures, Les Petites Lumieres, Love It Television Media Co., Ltd. (Central IPTV Platform), Mei Ah Entertainment Group Ltd., Omnijoi Pictures Co., Ltd., Real Pictures Entertainment, Shanghai International Film Festival, Shanghai Shimao Media Co., Ltd., Stellar Mega Films Ltd., Thousands of Phoenix Television, TIK Films, Tomoro International Ltd., Turquoise Pictures, ZheJiang Huamai Network Technology Co., Ltd. and ZhuJiang Film & Media Corporation Ltd.

TAIWANBureau français de Taipei, Flash Forward Entertainment, FOX International Channels, Hualien Media International Co., Ltd., Jnana Studio, JOINT Entertainment International Inc., Kaohsiung Film Archive, Swallow Wings Films Co., Ltd., Taipei Film Festival, Taipei Golden Horse Film (Film Project Promotion) and Videoland Inc.

HONG KONGAscension Pictures Ltd., Bert Brothers Company, Chili Advertising & Promotions Ltd., Chinese Shadows, CNEX Foundation Ltd., Emperor Motion Pictures, Fame Universal Entertainment Ltd., Focus Films Ltd., Fortissimo Films, Fox International Productions (Greater China), Golden Sun Film Distribution Ltd., Golden Scene Company Ltd., Imperial Ltd., Irresistible Films, ITV, Kenbiroli Films Ltd., Making Film Productions Ltd., Mar Vivo Studio, Media Asia Films, Star Chinese Movies, Universal Pictures International Production and Why Entertainment Co., Ltd.

OTHER REGIONSDoha Film Institute (Doha), Odin’s Eye Entertainment (Australia) and Screen Producers Australia (Australia)

PARTICIPANTS

Hong Kong - AsiaFilm Financing Forum

19 - 21. 3. 2018

www.haf.org.hk

haf@hkiff.org.hk

hafhkiffs

HK Asia Film Financing Forum

HAFAsia

HAFAsia

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Organiser