The Hong Kong International Film Festival Association has announced 25 in-development projects selected for this year's Hong Kong-Asia Film Finance Forum (HAF). The collection includes several projects produced by prominent filmmakers, including Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda, India's Aditya Vikram Sengupta, and French producer and writer Sylvie Pialat.
Cor Edda (Thieves, A monster) produces yellowYamaura Miyoh's feature debut, about a man who lives a life of self-punishment after a fatal car accident. Sengupta (Junaki, Labor of love) is the debut production of Niladri Mukherjee Mahalaxmi Republic Apartmentwhich examines issues of majority rule in India through a single mother tenant who becomes a public enemy of her apartment building when she reports a malfunctioning elevator.
Pialat (Wretched) In cooperation with Chinese producer Nai An (Blind massage, puzzle) in Hou Wei's first feature film, 49 daysThe film revolves around a divorced Chinese couple who meet again in Paris to arrange their son's funeral and confront their past.
Two leading talents known for their work in the Taiwanese industry are also presenting projects at HAF. Actress Lee Sinji (The beauty of walnuts, The eye), who made his debut as an executive producer on director Jin Ong's Malaysian drama Abang Adekis collaborating with Jin to produce Malaysian director Kethsvin Chee's film Dead tide.
Taiwanese producer Yeh Ju-Feng (sun, Trouble girl) works with music video and TVC director Bill Shea Indigo boya fantasy drama about two close friends struggling with their mental illness.
The lineup also includes five projects co-produced by Hong Kong companies and two featuring Hong Kong directors – Fan Ka Chun's horror-thriller; Something is in the wayAn action and crime film Open firefrom Sze Pak Lam and Lau Wing Tai (Guilt by design).
Other projects from Southeast Asia include Jun Robles Lana's Circumcision From the Philippines, Panu Aree and Kong Rithdee's Drive south and pray west From Thailand and Taiwan-Malaysia Cooperation Edmund Yu The era of farewell.
HAF is a flagship event of the HKIFF Industry Enterprise Market (17-19 March), which is held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center alongside Filmart (17-20 March). Jacob Wong, industry director at HKIFF, said the shortlisted projects “display extraordinary storytelling in a wide range of genres, from action to sci-fi, fantasy, suspense and horror.”
“There are nine projects by female directors this year, as well as numerous collaborations involving filmmakers from Asia, Europe and North America, underscoring Hong Kong's place at the crossroads of the global film industry,” Wong continued. “At least 13 projects have received partial funding, with budgets ranging from US$200,000 to US$5 million.”
HKIFF Industry Project Market will also announce separate batches of projects in progress and a new animation section. Meanwhile, the second edition of the bi-annual HKIFF Industry – CAA China Genre Institute (HCG) initiative, dedicated to Chinese-language films, will be held in 2026. CAA China will introduce a new script development award during this year's market.
HAF projects under development 2025:
2181 Introduction (China, Canada)
Director: Wang Kunlin
Producer: Zhao Zhiyuan
Production company: Yescheer Pictures
49 days (France, China)
Director: He Wei
Producers: Sylvie Pialat, Nai An
Production company: Les Films du Worso
Anaikati Blues (India)
Director: Arun Karthik
Producer: Madhu Mohan
Production company: Manvasanai Cinema
The era of farewell (Taiwan, Malaysia)
Director: Edmund Yu
Producers: David Tang, Edmund Yu, Dennis Lai, Zhao Jin
Production companies: Renaissance Films, Happy Together Pictures
With a check. Homecoming (Tajikistan, Kazakhstan)
Director: Iskander Usmanov
Producers: Diana Achimova, Yerlan Ibrahim, Iskander Osmonov
Production company: Team
Bird stalker (China)
Director: Zeng Qi
Producers: Li Tianyu, Joy Zhou Yining
Production company: Beijing Binwu Cultural Communications Company
Circumcision (Filipino)
Director: John Robles Lana
Producers: Percy Intalan, Ferdi Lapuz
Production company: IdeaFirst Company
Dead tide (Malaysia)
Director: Keithsveen Chee
Producers: Lee Sinji, Jin Ong
Production company: Fast Forward Films
Drive south and pray west (Thailand)
Directors: Pannu Ari, Kunj Rithidi
Producer: Banu Ari
Production company: Drive South Pray West Pictures
Giant salamander (China)
Director: Yang Heng
Producer: Yang Heng
Production company: Xiangxi Meixi Space Culture Media Co., Ltd
Gone with the wind (China)
Director: Zhao Yanming
Producer: Aubrey Chenglian
Production company: Beijing Daxiuang Culture Media
Indigo boy (Taiwan)
Director: Bill Shea
Producers: Yeh Ju-Feng, Ivy YH Chiang
Production company: Fragrant Creative Integration Company
Innocent meat (China)
Director: Lin Yihan
Producers: Li Yuwen, Hattie Yu
Production company: Fast Vista Films
Lanka (India)
Director: Sourav Rai
Producers: Sourav Rai, Ankita Purkayastha
Production company: Newit Audio
Mabui (Japan)
Director: Fukunaga Takeshi
Producers: Yamaguchi Shin, Eric Niari
Production companies: Knockonwood Inc, Cineric Creative
Open fire (Hong Kong)
Directors: Sze Pak Lam, Lau Wing Tai
Producer: Evan Wong
Production company: Scene One Picture
Axis (turkey)
Director: Melissa O'Neill
Producer: Alara Hamamcioglu Bayraktar
Production company: Vigo Film
Mahalaxmi Republic Apartment (India)
Director: Niladri Mukherjee
Producers: Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Priyankar Batra
Production company: Films
See you there (China and Hong Kong)
Director: Wong Yi Kwan
Producers: Wang Hongwei, Song Dafa
Production company: Beijing Density Blue Film and Television Company
Sealers (Korea and the United States)
Directors: Hee Young Byun, Jiajun Oscar Chang
Producers: Heejoong Oh, Hwang Yoo, Christine Chen
Production company: Seesaw Pictures
Somatization (China)
Director: Sun Xiao
Producers: Wang Hongwei, Song Dafa, Liu Hang
Production company: Beijing Film Culture Company
Something is in the way (Hong Kong)
Director: Fan Ka Chun
Producer: Lam Sook Yin
Production company: Loudprovision
A stranger at my door (Hong Kong, China)
Director: Cheng Lu Xinyuan
Producer: Stanley Kwan Kam Pang
Production company: not available
Waves under the sea (Macau, Hong Kong, China)
Director: Chan Silong
Producers: Chan Hing Kai, Robin Yeung
Production company: not available
yellow (Japan)
Director: Yamura Mioh
Producers: Kore-eda Hirokazu, Jun Ohinata
Production company: Bonpoku
