The Hong Kong Convention Centre, Wanchai. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Hong Kong's Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) has unveiled the first 17 in-development projects selected for its 24th edition, offering an early snapshot of the stories and talent set to converge at one of Asia's most closely watched film financing markets. The initial lineup spans a wide range of genres, from comedy and fantasy to suspense and romance, and reflects the forum's long-standing emphasis on pairing emerging directors with established industry mentors. Among the prominent filmmakers attached to the selected projects as producers are Hong Kong auteur Stanley Kwan, Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen and Japanese industry veteran Shiina Yasushi, the longtime head of Tokyo's TIFFCOM market. Related Stories Movies UTA Signs British Comedian Simon Brodkin (Exclusive) Movies BAFTA to Honor Picturehouse Cinemas Creative Director Clare Binns As usual, the projects - currently in scriptwriting and financing stages - will be showcased as part of the HKIFF Industry Project Market, held during Hong Kong's Filmart content market, running March 17-19. According to organizers, HAF24 received 414 submissions from 38 countries and regions, with Asian projects accounting for 82 percent of the total. Submissions came from across East, Southeast and South Asia, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The selected projects underscore the forum's increasingly transnational scope, with many titles crossing borders in both subject matter and production structure. Several projects explore identity, migration and generational change, while others lean into surrealism, fantasy and dark comedy. HKIFFS said additional in-development projects - including titles focused on genre cinema and animation - will be announced in the coming weeks. 2026 HAF In-Development Projects (So far) 131Director: Sasha ChukProducer: Stanley Kwan.A drama revolving around two masseuses and a construction worker as they reshape their futures while moving between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. 38.83Director: Vincci CheukProducer: Koga Shunsuke.
An intergenerational comedy about a 38-year-old woman's unexpected connection with her 83-year-old grandmother during an unavoidable trip. A Drop in the SeaDirector: Xiao BaerProducer: Zhang Fan.
An entrepreneurial Chinese woman travels to Algeria for her brother's Janazah, uncovering an unknown chapter of his life. Fishers of MenDirector: Sanju SurendranProducers: Pramod Sankar, Rajeev Ravi and Kiran Kesav.A Malayalam absurdist parable about an Indian vegetarian banker whose life is transformed by an inexplicable obsession with fish. Forgetting She Is SheDirector: Guo Yu-tianProducer: Chan Hing-kai.A story of conflicted identities and twisted love, in which a writer mistakes her stalker for a long-lost sibling, reopening a buried murder case. Funeral FlowersDirectors: Liza Diño, Ice SeguerraProducer: Krisma Fajardo.
Set entirely during the wake of a political patriarch, the film follows his daughter as she confronts estranged siblings and mistresses amid public spectacle. Have a Good TripDirector: Xu JianmingProducer: Bi Guangming.
Seven strange tales intersect in a small town populated by eerie figures, including a reclusive doctor and a man who claims ants live in his ears. Heading SouthDirector: Yuan YuanProducer: Wang Jing.A coming-of-age story centered on a 13-year-old Mongolian girl torn between traditional roots and her fascination with K-pop dance and city life. Life Is YoursDirector: Emma KawawadaProducers: Takahashi Naoya and Eiko Mizuno-Gray.
An elderly cleaner plots revenge to reclaim land stolen from her at a ski resort in Niseko. Mama Mia Let Me Go!Director: Cheung Wai-yuProducer: Peter Yam.A lively comedy-drama about a young woman who arranges for her mother to meet a new beau in hopes of helping her escape a stifling home life. My PhantomDirector: Story Chen JianyingProducer: Li Xiaoyuan.A dreamlike journey through Kyoto in which a Chinese writer encounters a man who resembles her late fiancé, lost on their wedding day. Somewhere in the SouthDirector: Tan Ce DingProducer: Anthony ChenAn aimless young man becomes entangled in a local political campaign during a by-election in a small Malaysian town. Stuck Like Babies (Zholdogu Bala)Director: Dastan Zhapar RyskeldiProducers: Veronica Rhyme, Fernanda Renno and Florence Stern.A comedy-drama about a Kyrgyz commander and a Tajik doctor who discover a baby of unknown nationality at a tense border crossing. The Blue BreaksDirector: Uchiyama TakuyaProducer: Satoh Naomi.
Based on a novel by Ryohei Machiya, the film