The Hong Kong International Film Festival Association will announce four projects selected through a new partnership with Jakarta Film Week, JAFF Market and Japan Creator Support Fund at the upcoming HKIFF Industrial Project Market.
Titles in development, including Roeloe Hendra Komala’s A Life Full of Holes, Najam Yard’s Ping Pong, Natsuka Kusano’s Unknown Face, and the stop-motion animation Hidari by Masashi Kawamura and Iku Ogawa, join 42 projects in development and in progress previously announced at the 24th Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum. The market will be held in parallel with Filmart at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from March 17th to 19th, and will be held for the 30th time.
HKIFF Industry has expanded its Jakarta Film Week partnership to include JAFF Market, supporting Indonesia’s film sector with support from the country’s Ministry of Culture through the National Talent Management Program.
“Our continued cooperation with HKIFF Industry plays an important role in building a sustainable platform for the development and networking of Indonesian talents and projects in the Asian and international film industry,” said Vivian Idris, promoter of National Talent Management for Film.
The two Indonesian projects make up sections of Jakarta Film Week and JAFF Market. Komala’s A Life Full of Holes is about a 17-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a content creator while caring for her younger siblings after her mother goes abroad to work. Director Komala’s “Tale of the Land” will be screened in Busan in 2024. Indra Yuditya Irawan, Komala and Kwek See Heng will produce the Indonesian-Taiwanese co-production for Onomastika Films and Abu Images.
Inspired by the filmmaker’s personal experiences, Yard’s Ping Pong follows a disgraced Olympic athlete who is forced to go underground to make a living playing table tennis while struggling to care for his aging father and a strained relationship with his son. Hanan Cynthia is the producer of Arungi Films.
A separate collaboration between HKIFF Industry and the Japan Creators Support Fund introduces a Film Frontier section, focused on Japanese filmmakers seeking international co-production and collaboration opportunities.
“We are thrilled to partner with HKIFF Industry to launch Film Frontier. We want to connect the next generation of filmmakers with international partners who can help them realize their unique visions,” said Kaori Ikeda, Managing Director of UniJapan.
The first Film Frontier selection includes two projects. Hidari, a stop-motion animation directed by Kawamura and Ogawa, is inspired by the legend of Hidari Jingoro and set in a vision of Japanese woodpunk during the Edo period. A tale of revenge, political intrigue, and legacy follows a sculptor as he battles mechanical soldiers and confronts his past. Noriko Matsumoto is in charge of producing Dwarf Studio.
Kusano directed “Unknown Face,” which explores the relationship between a bisexual woman and her partner who develop intimacy with a stranger until a sudden change in dynamics forces them to wear strange, unreadable faces resembling traditional Noh masks. Director Kusano’s “Domain” was screened in Rotterdam in 2018. Gohei Miyoshi, Anocha Swichakornpong and Paul Mori are producing for Matataki Films LLC.
All shortlisted projects will compete for cash and in-kind prizes across 17 categories, including development and post-production gap funding, equipment, filming and post-production services. The 24 winners will receive a total of $360,000.
Three sponsors will be presenting the awards for the first time. Kantana Holdings will offer three in-kind awards for Digital Intermediate Post Production ($25,000), Sound Post Production ($25,000), and Virtual Production ($87,500). Phenom Films will support one project with $38,500 worth of in-kind post-production services.
Sensitive skin care brand Cetaphil is collaborating to promote creative voices through the HAF Goes to Cannes program, helping selected filmmakers to showcase their work internationally.
