Five Projects Selected For“HAF Goes To Cannes”

To open the door to the international film community, the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) collaborates with Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes to present the “HAF Goes to Cannes” program, and bring five projects from the Work-in-Progress (WIP) program for presentation and pitching at the Cannes Film Festival in May, including INVITATION, MARYGOROUND, ODORIKO, SUK SUK and TO LIVE TO SING. WIP 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.

PROJECT TITLE: INVITATION

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: India

SYNOPSIS

Ten-year-old Tashi and his old grandmother are the caretakers of a cardamom orchard belonging to a landlord. The little boy shares a close relationship with the landlady, to an extent of sneaking into their secret hideout in the orchard for her to smoke cigarettes. However, he is scared of her husband because of his coldness towards Tashi.

The news of the marriage of the landlord’s son’s makes Tashi excited and restless despite his grandmother’s consistent discouragement about getting an invitation. On the contrary, he soon is entrusted with the task of distributing the wedding invitation across the village. Yet, the landlord is at loggerheads with his son over his sudden decision to get married. As the wedding day approaches, Tashi is finally invited but gets entangled in an incident to which he may or may not be related.

DIRECTOR:

Saurav RAI

PRODUCER:
Ankita PURKAYASTHA

Saurav RAI

Sanjay GULATI

WIP GOALS:

Funds, Sales agents, Pre-sales, Festival screening

BUDGET:

US$ 120,000

SECURED BUDGET:

US$ 60,000

DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY

First feature director

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I have always considered the power of compassion and empathy to be the greatest virtues of human life. And through cinema I have always tried to bring forward those feelings or events, which have had profound impact on my conscience. INVITATION emerged from such real life experiences surrounding a particular village and its people. Lives in villages are often perceived to be simple, where the people are far more innocent and peaceful. Yet like the river, which might appear silent from the above while hiding its internal current; village life, too, is always brewing with its own internal problems and conflicts. The age-old feudal structure and the rift between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ still run deep in these villages, at least in India. The film essentially serves as a window into the villagers’ lives.

DIRECTOR

Saurav RAI

Saurav Rai is a direction and screenplay-writing alumnus from the Satyajit Ray Film and TV Institute, India. A Nepali-language film, MONSOON RAIN, was his first short film on celluloid; it had its world premiere at the 34^th Munich International Film Festival (2014), Germany. GUDH (NEST), another short, was in the Cinéfondation competition at Cannes 2016. INVITATION is his debut feature film, shot and produced in his native Village Mangmaya, Darjeeling.

PROJECT TITLE: MARYGOROUND

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Poland

SYNOPSIS

Mary is just a lonely small town grocery store worker. She leads a simple life. Struggling with menopause, she visits her doctor, who prescribes her a course of hormone replacement therapy. On the eve of her 50^th birthday, Mary’s life begins to take a totally unexpected turn. It is freaking magical. As she feels things differently, she begins to live more extravagantly. On top of this, her young, vivacious niece keeps showing up at her doorstep and affects Mary’s sexual awakening. But there is something much darker bubbling beneath the surface… Meanwhile, a holy presence in Mary’s home appears to silently judge her, which deepens her uncertainty. This anxiety threatens to suppress her newfound lust for life. Mary must act if she is to keep the wickedness at bay…

DIRECTOR:

Daria WOSZEK

PRODUCER:
Marcin LECH

Daria WOSZEK

WIP GOALS:

Sales agents, Pre-sales, Festival screening

BUDGET:

US$ 1,100,000

SECURED BUDGET:

US$ 960,000

DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY

First feature director

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

It was very interesting to find out that for my mother and my female friends alike, life started at age 50. Only after freeing themselves from the roles traditionally assigned to them, were they able to finally find true selves. Only after society stopped expecting certain things from them, could they begin to wonder who they really were. Grażyna, who plays the protagonist in this film, found out that she was a daughter, a mother, and an actress before being herself. She was disappointed to find out that she had kept herself in the last place of all in her life, struggling to fit into various roles prior to realising herself. This is the point at which we meet Mary, the main character. She begins to experience the world like never before, finally freeing her libido and her feminine strength. In the midst of this hormonal turbulence, heartbreak and her niece Helena’s uncertain pregnancy, the two women rely on and take care of each other. The film is about experimenting and searching to find one’s own way of life. It is about the struggle to start giving your life the shape you want it to have.

DIRECTOR

Daria WOSZEK

Daria Woszek graduated from the Jagiellonian University, followed by studies in theatre and film directing at the Krzysztof Kieslowski Faculty of the Radio and Television University of Silesia in Katowice. She completed film directing and screenwriting masterclasses at the Wajda School. THE DOGCATCHER is her latest short and already has gathered main awards at the Oscar-qualifying Rhode Island Film Festival (2016) and at Poland’s most prestigious domestic film event, the Gdynia Film Festival (2016).

PROJECT TITLE: ODORIKO

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan

SYNOPSIS

Odoriko are dancers of the dying art of the Japanese strip theater. Once a popular form of entertainment alongside standup comedy (with the likes of young Takeshi Kitano), today all but 20 strip clubs nationwide have closed. Still, the women travel solo with their costume cases from one dressing room to another in ten-day shifts, performing on stage to a dwindling but devoted group of fans. This observational film captures the everyday lives of the odoriko backstage as they rehearse, chat, cook and eat, pack suitcases, mend costumes, and look into mirrors, often naked but without concern for the camera. The life questions that the odoriko face daily are modest and ordinary – work, children, family – yet the uncommonness of this traditional trade is undeniable. Like dancers’ bodies disappearing into darkness when the stage spotlight dims at a show’s end, the future of the strip theater seems destined to follow. Deliberately filmed on mini-DV tape in an archaic frame ratio, this third feature documentary by director Yoichiro Okutani will be a poignant and artful portrait of a vanishing culture behind the curtains.

DIRECTOR:

OKUTANI Yoichiro

PRODUCER:
SHIOBARA Fumiko

FUJIOKA Asako

WIP GOALS:

Funds, Sales agents, Pre-sales

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

US$ 180,000

SECURED BUDGET:

US$ 130,000

DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY

2013 CHILDREN OF SOLEIL

2012 NIPPON NO MISEMONOYASAN

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

All things constantly change in the cycle of birth and death, and nothing stays in one place even for a moment. I am drawn to contrast – young naked bodies in old strip clubs of a past generation; transforming city landscape as new architecture takes over traditional neighbourhoods; elder odoriko passing on their art to the young. Strip clubs are no longer popular in Japan. They are restricted by ordinance from rebuilding or advertising. Many will close their doors before long. Nevertheless, there are still many young women who enter the odoriko trade. They don’t provide sexual services, but resolutely train their bodies and choreograph shows to provide professional entertainment. This film aims to present an ensemble of many such women. Some appear only in one scene, but each body is unique and different. Time will fly by in this mass consumption society, but this film will serve as testament that these naked women existed before my eyes.

DIRECTOR

OKUTANI Yoichiro

Born 1978 in Japan, Okutani studied at the graduate documentary course at the Film School of Tokyo under filmmakers Sato Makoto and Tsutsui Takefumi. NIPPON NO MISEMONOYASAN (THE LAST SIDESHOW TROUPE IN JAPAN) (2012), a feature-length documentary about a freak show troupe and its family, obtained a cult following in the cinemas. CHILDREN OF SOLEIL (2013) was invited to Yamagata IDFF 2011 (New Asian Currents) and Cinéma du Réel 2012 (First Films Competition). Both films have been theatrically released in Japan.

PROJECT TITLE: SUK SUK

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Hong Kong

SYNOPSIS

SUK SUK is a quiet portrayal of a gay relationship between two men in their twilight years. Pak, 70, a married taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets Hoi 65, a retired single father. Although both are secretly gay, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and hardship over the years. Hoi is a member of the Mature Tongzhi Society, a social group, which caters for gay men who are over 60. The group is planning to attend a public forum to request the government to create senior citizen homes dedicated exclusively for gay people. However, due to the fact that most men in the group are in the closet, there is no one who is willing to voice their opinions in the public forum. Hoi supports the notion of a gay senior citizen home and considers speaking in the public forum. However, when Hoi begins to wonder whether his son Wan suspects he is gay, his attitude shifts. As Pak and Hoi fall in love they contemplate a possible future together. SUK SUK studies the subtle day-to-day moments of the two men as they struggle between conventional morals and their personal desires.

DIRECTOR:

Ray YEUNG

PRODUCER:
Michael J. WERNER

Teresa KWONG

Sandy YIP

WIP GOALS:

Funds, Sales agents, Pre-sales, Festival screening

BUDGET:

US$ 897,436

SECURED BUDGET:

US$ 448,720

DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY

2015 FRONT COVER

2005 CUT SLEEVE BOYS

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Today in Hong Kong the LGBT community is generally more open and the society is more accepting of gay rights. However older gay men have not been able to enjoy these changes due to their adherence to strict traditional cultural values and close family ties. Many of these older gay men, who had abandoned their own natures and desires to fulfil their duties as sons continuing the family name, established close and rewarding blood ties to the families they created. Some of these ties might be full of tension, but some are close, with mutual respect and appreciation. For these men, ‘love’ from their families is the only reward they have had, their life’s ultimate goal and achievement. Therefore to ‘come out’ as an older man is a betrayal of their lives’ work and self-sacrifice. SUK SUK is essentially a love story about two men falling in love for the first time in their 70s. The film will portray the dilemmas these characters face and the struggles they encounter without judging their choices. The story shows the care and love they receive from their families, and why it is hard for them to be who they truly want to be.

DIRECTOR

Ray YEUNG

Ray Yeung’s first feature film, CUT SLEEVE BOYS (2005) premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and won Best Feature at the Outfest Fusion Festival in Los Angeles. It also won Best Actor in the Madrid Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Ray, a Columbia University MFA graduate, also has been the Chairman of the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival since 2000. He has written and directed eight short films. Ray’s second feature, FRONT COVER (2015) is distributed by Edko Films Ltd. in Hong Kong and by Strand Releasing for North America. FRONT COVER was theatrically released in cinemas.

PROJECT TITLE: TO LIVE TO SING

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: China

SYNOPSIS

Zhao Li is the manager of a small Sichuan Opera troupe of 11 members, living and performing together in a rundown theatre located in the outskirts of Chengdu, China. But when she receives an order of demolition for the troupe theatre, Zhao Li hides the news from everyone else, fearing that this could spell the end of her opera troupe. Secretly, Zhao Li would not mind stopping since troupe life has become difficult over the years. But what else can she do? Besides demolition, she also worries that her 17-year-old niece, Dan Dan – the starlet of the troupe – will leave them for a better future in the city. To keep her troupe “family” together, Zhao Li begins to search for a new theatre for them to both sing and live in. As she struggles with modern government bureaucracy, her opera world slowly begins to seep into her real world. Just as Zhao Li uses opera performance as a way to escape from the troubles of her real life, soon characters from opera begin to show up in that real life…

DIRECTOR:

Johnny MA

PRODUCER:

WU Xianjian

WANG Jing

Vincent WANG

WIP GOALS:

Funds, Sales agents, Pre-sales, Festival screening

BUDGET:

US$ 760,000

SECURED BUDGET:

US$ 560,000

DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY

2016 OLD STONE

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I first came across Zhao Li and her opera troupe back in 2013 when I watched a TV documentary depicting their daily lives. The images were hastily captured on a handi-cam but I was completely captivated by its larger than-life characters. I was reminded of one of my favorite Ozu films, FLOATING WEEDS (1959). Just like the travelling troupe in that film, for Zhao Li and her troupe, performing was not only their job but it was also their way of life. I believe the only way for me to make this film is with the real troupe members depicting themselves. By placing the real opera troupe in the center of the film and giving them a chance to relive this alternative version of their own story, I hope to create a film where reality and fiction fuse together in a hybrid docu-fiction approach. I believe audiences both in China and abroad will be able to relate to the story in a larger context and global trend of the traditional family values colliding against the tide of modern change.

DIRECTOR

Johnny MA

Born in Shanghai, China, Johnny first immigrated to Toronto at the age of ten. He graduated from Columbia University and was a fellow at the Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Directing Lab in 2014. In 2012, Johnny moved back to China to make his thesis film, A GRAND CANAL (2013), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. OLD STONE (2016), Johnny’s directorial debut world premiered at the Berlinale. It was awarded the Best Canadian First Feature Award at Toronto International Film Festival and Best First Feature at Canadian Screen Awards.