Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Project Selected for HAF 2025 Development, New Animation Section Added

HAF 2025 Announces 25 In-Development Projects, Featuring Hirokazu Kore-eda and More

The Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) has unveiled 25 in-development projects for its 23rd edition, including works by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Sylvie Pialat, and more. A standalone animation section will also debut for the first time.

Scroll down for full list of projects

HAF 2025: Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Introducing New Animation Section

The Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) has announced 25 in-development projects selected for its 23rd edition, chosen from 276 submissions across 45 countries and regions. According to HKIFF Industry director Jacob Wong, the shortlisted projects are notable for their cultural diversity and exceptional storytelling across genres such as action, sci-fi, fantasy, suspense, and horror.

Nine of the selected projects are directed by women, and several involve collaborations between filmmakers from Asia, Europe, and North America. This highlights Hong Kong’s strategic role as a global hub for the film industry.

At least 13 of the selected projects, with budgets ranging from $200,000 to $5 million, have already secured partial funding.

Introduction of a Standalone Animation Section

For the first time, a dedicated animation section will be introduced at HAF to support the growth of animated feature production in the region. Projects at various stages of development and production will be unveiled in mid-February, coinciding with the announcement of HAF’s works-in-progress selections.

This animation section joins HAF’s existing initiatives, including the HKIFF Industry – CAA China Genre Initiative (HCG), launched last year to promote Chinese-language genre films. Although the second edition of this biannual HCG will be held in 2026, this year’s HKIFF Industry Project Market will feature a new script development award presented by CAA China.

HAF 2025 continues to solidify its reputation as a premier platform for fostering collaborations, showcasing diverse voices, and advancing the global film industry.

Acclaimed producers

HAF 2025 In-Development Projects Spotlight: Bold Debuts and Literary Adaptations

This year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) features a diverse lineup of in-development projects, including several notable feature debuts supported by acclaimed producers and adaptations of celebrated novels.

Feature Debuts with Acclaimed Producers

• 49 Days: Directed by Hu Wei and produced by Sylvie Pialat (Timbuktu, Stranger By The Lake) and Nai An, this France-China collaboration follows a divorced Chinese couple reuniting in Paris to arrange their son’s funeral while confronting unresolved emotions from their past.
• Indigo Boy: Produced by Yeh Ju-Feng, this fantasy by MV and TVC director Bill Chia delves into themes of depression and mental health through the lens of two close friends who struggle with their inner battles and the concept of indigo children.
• Republic Of Mahalaxmi Apartment: Directed by Niladri Mukherjee and produced by Aditya Vikram Sengupta (Once Upon A Time In Calcutta), this Indian drama explores majority rule tensions, centering on a single mother who becomes an outcast in her housing estate after raising concerns about a malfunctioning elevator.
• Yellow: Produced by Cannes Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Monster) for assistant director Miyoh Yamaura, the story follows a man grappling with guilt and self-punishment after a fatal car accident, who finds healing through the young son of his deceased friend.

Adaptations of Renowned Novels

• 2181 Overture: Directed by Wang Kunlin, this adaptation of Chinese sci-fi writer Gu Shi’s Hugo Award-shortlisted novelette centers on a scientist awakening from cryogenic hibernation, adjusting to a transformed world, and searching for her lost daughter using a book she left behind.
• The Age Of Goodbyes: Adapted from Li Zi Shu’s bestselling novel, this film by Edmund Yeo explores the intricate relationships between a woman, her stepdaughter, and the latter’s lover in 1970s Ipoh. Yeo’s previous work We, The Dead (Aqérat) earned him the Best Director award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Hong Kong-Led Co-Productions

• Something In The Way: Directed by Fan Ka Chun, this horror suspense thriller follows a detective with face blindness who must confront repressed memories of his missing mother to stop himself from succumbing to his own dark impulses.
• Open Fire: Directed by Sze Pak-lam and Lau Wing-tai (Guilt By Design), this crime-action disaster film tells the story of a firefighter racing to save his wife from a slum fire ignited by an Interpol raid on terrorism.

Showcasing Creativity and Collaboration

This year’s lineup underscores the strength of cultural diversity and collaboration across continents, with themes spanning from grief and guilt to mental health, social issues, and speculative science fiction. HAF continues to cement its position as a global platform for fostering exceptional storytelling and innovative filmmaking.

Returning projects

Highlights of Returning and Emerging Talent in HAF 2025 Lineup

This year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) lineup showcases a mix of fresh talent and familiar filmmakers, with diverse narratives exploring personal struggles, societal issues, and psychological complexities.

HAF Film Lab Alumni

Three of the selected projects previously received six months of script development support through the HAF Film Lab:

• Gone With The Wind (Zhao Yanming): A coming-of-age drama about a high schooler’s mission to dismantle a gambling ring in his hometown on the Inner Mongolian prairie.
• Somatization (Sun Xiao): A sci-fi horror tale set in a town overrun by petrochemical plants, where a mysterious explosion turns residents into monsters.
• Waves Under The Sea (Chan Sileong): An LGBTQ+ drama about two seaside friends whose diverging life paths create distance between them.

Notable Returnees and Familiar Faces

• The Circumciser (Jun Robles Lana): A historical drama set in 1920s US-ruled Philippines, focusing on a 16-year-old boy who dreams of studying English rather than inheriting his father’s role as the village circumciser.
• Drive South Pray West (Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee): A poignant story of a Muslim teenager fleeing Thailand’s troubled south for Bangkok, where he must navigate justice for his deceased brother.
• Giant Salamander (Yang Heng): A tale of isolation, featuring a man who moves to Hunan Province to care for an old man and his mysterious hidden cave-dwelling salamander.

Prominent Collaborations and Complex Narratives

• A Stranger At My Door (Zheng Lu Xinyuan, produced by Stanley Kwan): This psychological drama follows an amateur film director haunted by her mother’s ghost while working on a film about her mother’s sexual abuse, finding solace in a French composer.
• Dead Tide (Kethsvin Chee, produced by Lee Sinje and Jin Ong): A psychological drama about a released murderer returning to his fishing village to seek redemption, only to become entangled with a mentally ill woman locked away in a room.
• Lanka (Saurav Rai): A psychological revenge drama centered on a feud between two Indian families that spirals into violence after a karate drill involving their children goes wrong.

Diverse Themes and Genres

These projects underscore HAF’s commitment to supporting culturally diverse narratives that span genres such as coming-of-age drama, sci-fi horror, psychological thrillers, and historical epics. Through its mix of returning talent and newcomers, HAF continues to be a critical platform for innovative storytelling and cinematic exploration.

Courtesy: Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing

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