News

Distribution Workshop has picked up international rights to Chinese director Steven Zhang Zhonghua’s Iou, a comedy drama set against the background of recent illegal fundraising scams, starring Aaron Kwok.

The film is produced by Hong Kong’s Julia Chu, reuniting with Kwok after their work together on Port Of Call (2015) and Where The Wind Blows (2022). Zhang is described as an emerging talent from China’s post-80s generation. Kwok is one of Hong Kong’s biggest stars, recently appearing in Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.

Taipei-based Distribution Workshop will launch sales on the film at Filmart, which is taking place March 17-20 in Hong Kong.

Kwok plays a desperate man who is trying to repay his debts by any means necessary. He blockades the rural home of a pair of simple-minded but compassionate siblings, hoping to force their father home to repay his loan to him, but is...

Hong Kong leading man Aaron Kwok will next star in Iou, a heartwarming drama directed by Steven Zhang Zhonghua. The film reunites Kwok with Hong Kong producer Julia Chu, with whom he teamed up for Port of Call (2015) and Where the Wind Blows (2022). Distribution Workshop is shopping the film to international buyers this week at Hong Kong’s Filmart content market.

Set against the background of recent, real-life fundraising scams in China, Iou is a comedy-drama “that satirizes the selfishness of an interest-driven society,” according to the producers.

Kwok plays a desperate man struggling between survival and kindness. Trying to repay his own debts by all means necessary, Kwok’s character, a man named Wu, blocks two siblings inside their rural Shaanxi home, hoping to force their father to pay back the money Wu loaned him. Despite causing him endless headaches, the siblings’ simple-mindedness and compassion transform Wu, leading him...

The recent increase in quality of Hong Kong productions is being driven by a combination of family drama and a focus on people with special needs of varying degrees. James Hung definitely includes these two elements in “My First of May”, which also has the additional appeal of including one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Aaron Kwok and one of the best new talents of the local industry, Natalie Hsu. It turns out, however, that just by putting all the right ingredients together, does not guarantee the result will be ideal. Let us take things from the beginning though.

My First of May is screening at Cinemasia

Tang Suk Yin, a former local squash champion, has his life in shambles. He has no money, no prospects, and a nagging mother constantly pestering him. It turns out, though, the she has her reasons, as she is sole caretake of his daughter,...

Anselm Chan’s The Last Dance leads the pack going into the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards (Hkfa) with 18 nominations.

It is followed by Soi Cheang’s Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In with 14 nods and Philip Yung’s Papa with 11 nominations. All three films will face off alongside Adam Wong’s The Way We Talk and Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well, in both the best film and best director categories.

The 18 nominations secured by The Last Dance is the highest in Hkfa’s history since Teddy Chen’s Assassins And Bodyguards received the same number in 2010. Chan...

Hong Kong's top-grossing movie of the year is director Soi Cheang's Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. Set largely in Kowloon Walled City (long since demolished), the martial arts blockbuster pits warring triads in a battle to the death over control of the tenement slum. Caught in the middle: hapless Mainlander Chan (Raymond Lam), whose search for an identity card has made him the target of expert assassins from both sides. Led by heavyweights like Louis Koo, Richie Jen, Aaron Kwok, and the legendary Sammo Hung, Twilight is also a showcase for a younger generation of performers, like Philip Ng, who plays Sammo Hung's top killer King. Philip Ng has starred in action films for almost 20 years, working with the some of the best...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Hong Kong film industry veteran and longtime assistant director Albert Mak directed a few films back in 2000 with his last solo directing effort being “Forget Me Not” (2010). However, he is also known as an associate director to filmmaker Johnnie To in the film “Drug War” (2012). Released during the Chinese New Year 2024, Mak returns as director in the wacky comedy action heist film “Rod N Roll” which is just perfect for the occasion.

Taxi driver Robby (Gordon Lam Ka Tung) lives in a small apartment with his frustrated pregnant wife and his nagging mother. Unreliable and timid, loser Robby lives day to day and avoids the conflicts at home. On the other hand, his good friend Fai (Richie Jen) is an honest man who runs a small elderly home business. But he is forever in financial trouble and the recent rent increase makes his life even more difficult. Nonetheless, these two middle-aged men are kind,...

Since its local release in May, Soi Cheang’s action sensation Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In has become Hong Kong’s second-biggest domestic hit ever, earning $13.7 million in a city of just 7.2 million residents. But not only has the film reinvigorated Hong Kong’s fabled martial arts genre; it also has revived — if only fleetingly — one of the world’s most alluring architectural monstrosities: the Kowloon Walled City.

Once the most densely populated place on earth, the Kowloon Walled City was an effectively lawless enclave of Hong Kong that grew from the footprint of a small Chinese military fort into a labyrinthine urban microcosm. With no formal infrastructure, its towering, interconnected buildings were constructed haphazardly, creating a dark maze of narrow alleys and secret passages. Before its demolition in 1993, the Walled City had over 35,000 people living in an area of less than seven acres (which amounts to more than...

The apartment complexes making up what used to be Kowloon Walled City effectively sealed it off from the rest of Hong Kong. Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In imagines Kowloon as a kind of steampunk ghetto controlled by an aging gangster known as Cyclone (Louis Koo).

Cyclone’s domain is a marvel of production design (by Ip Man‘s Kwok-Keung Mak) and art direction (by Sai-Hung Chow). Cables snake through alleyways and up walls. Clouds of steam billow over clogged drains and trash cans burst with refuse. The homeless perch on corrugated roofing overlooking perpetually gloomy courtyards. They sleep in dingy doorways and stairways, gather around communal TVs, pushing past each other on endless delivery runs.

Part of a wave of Mainland China refugees, Chan Lok Kwun (Raymond Lam) needs an ID card to avoid deportation. He wins a bare-knuckle brawl in a nightclub, only to be...

While Furiosa may have made more headlines coming out Cannes Film Festival this year, another actioner at the festival also had our attention. Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which brings together the epic cast of Louis Koo, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, Tony Wu Tsz Tung, German Cheung, Richie Jen, Wong Tak Pun Kenny, Fish Liew, Chu Pak Hong, Cecilia Choi, Lau Wai Ming, Aaron Kwok, and Sammo Hung, will now arrive in U.S. theaters on August 9. Ahead of the release the first trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopis: “Many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong’s underworld, the notorious Kowloon Walled City serves as a fortified, lawless safe haven for gangs and refugees alike. But when a skilled underground fighter runs afoul of the most feared Triad boss in Hong Kong,...

"I'm warning you... don't cause trouble in the Walled City." Well Go USA has unveiled the official US trailer for a Hong Kong martial arts action movie titled Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, now ready for a US release in limited theaters this August. It first premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival a few months ago, and we featured the first promo trailer back then just before it opened in Hk. The film is an adaptation of the manhua City of Darkness by Andy Seto. It stars the action legend Sammo Hung as well as Louis Koo as Tornado (龍捲風), a martial arts master who is regarded as a legend within Kowloon Walled City. It's also produced by Wilson Yip Wai Sun and John Chong. The film follows the troubled youth Chan Lok-kwun (Raymond Lam) as he enters into the Walled City, discovers the order amidst its chaos, and...

Well Go USA has shared the official trailer and poster for Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which will open in North American theaters on August 9, 2024.

Many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong’s underworld, the notorious Kowloon Walled City serves as a fortified, lawless haven for gangs and refugees alike.

But when a skilled underground fighter runs afoul of the most feared Triad boss in Hong Kong, a bounty is placed on his head despite his connections to the leader of the infamous enclave.

As his pursuers violate the tenuous territorial truce to exact their vengeance, the fallout reignites old grudges, bringing decades of building tension to a brutal, bloody boiling point.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In stars Louis Koo, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, Tony Wu Tsz Tung, German Cheung, Richie Jen, Wong Tak Pun Kenny,...

Hong Kong action thriller Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In, which screened at Cannes this week, is set to become a trilogy, reuniting director Soi Cheang and producers John Chong and Wilson Yip.

Like the first film, the two new instalments will be based on the novel City Of Darkness by Yuyi. Both are expected to go into production around the same time next year on newly built extensive sets, according to Angus Chan of Entertaining Power, who owns the film rights to the novel.

The second instalment, Twilight Of The Warriors: Dragon Throne will be set in the 1950s and 1960s,...

The Hong Kong box office was dominated by a trio of local titles over Chinese New Year, earning almost $8m (Hk$62m) in 10 days.

Taking the top spot was Table For Six 2, with a cumulative box office of $4.07m (Hk$31.86m) as of February 18, while The Moon Thieves ($2.5m/Hk$19.58m) and Rob N Roll ($1.35/Hk$10.54m) ranked second and third respectively.

All three opened on Chinese New Year’s Eve (February 9) when multiple tentpole titles traditionally open to take full advantage of the lucrative festive period.

Ensemble family comedy Table For Six 2 rode on the success of its predecessor,...

Mainland China’s cinema box office recorded its lowest weekend revenue in over 12 months, at just $21 million, leaving a crop of long-playing titles largely unchanged at the top of the chart.

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the China box office in its sixth weekend of release. Three of the other top five titles remained unchanged from the previous week, though “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom replaced “The Beekeeper” in fourth place.

“Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $8.1 million (RMB57.3 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $171 million (RMB1.21 billion) since releasing on Dec. 29.

Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, held on to second place,...

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its fifth weekend of release. The top five titles remained unchanged from the previous week.

“Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $12.1 million (RMB86.2 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was another good hold after $15 million in the film’s fourth weekend. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $155 million (RMB1.10 million).

Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, held on to second place, but slipped 56% weekend-on-weekend with $5.3 million, down from $12.1 million.

Another Hong Kong-made film, “The Goldfinger” took $3.5 million in third place. Its cumulative stands at $71 million since releasing on Dec. 30.

Jason Statham-starring “The Beekeeper” maintained fourth place in China with $1.9 million.

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its fourth weekend of release. Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll” opened in second position.

“Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $15 million (RMB106 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was another strong hold after $19.7 million in the film’s third weekend and $22.4 million in its second frame. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $134 million (RMB951 million).

“Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, opened with $12.1 million. It was produced in Hong Kong and directed by Albert Mak, who has associate director credits on Johnny To movies “Drug War” and “Life Without Principle.”.

Another Hong Kong-made film, “The Goldfinger” took 3.8 million in third place.

Action comedy Rob N Roll is set to receive the biggest international rollout for a Chinese New Year title from Hong Kong since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The feature, starring Aaron Kwok and directed by Albert Mak, will be released in a dozen territories, including non-traditional markets such as Africa and Cambodia, over a span of three weeks.

Hong Kong star Kwok (Where The Wind Blows) plays a ruthless robber who accidentally teams up with two wannabe-robbers for a heist that leads to a string of shootouts and explosions. The stellar cast also includes Mad Fate star Lam Ka Tung and Richie Ren of Trivisa.

The late Benny Chan directed “The White Storm” back in 2013 starring Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo and Nick Cheung. In “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords” (2019) which starred Andy Lau and Louis Koo, Herman Yau took over as director. Now in 2023, Yau is back in this in-title-only third installment again featuring Koo, Lau Ching Wan and Aaran Kwok, the newcomer to the series. All these actors play different characters altogether but the themes of war against drugs, royalty and brotherhood are still there but told in a new storyline.

Check also this article The 20 Best Asian Action/Martial Arts Movies of 2023

The year is 2021 and Kang Su Chat, a Thai-Chinese drug lord who runs his operation in Hong Kong has his men fish up a few barrels containing heroin off the coast. As they leave the docks after unloading their precious cargo, the police show up which results in an intense firefight.

Spa Selections

“Carmen,” “Foe,” “Limbo,” Australia’s Oscar contender “Shayda,” “Streets of Colour” and “The Royal Hotel” have received the six nominations for best feature film at this year’s Screen Producers Australia Awards. The Spa Awards will be held on Thursday, March 21, 2024, the final evening of the Screen Forever conference.

In the documentary feature section, the nominations are “Flyaways,” “Harley & Katya,” “Living With Devils,” “Onefour: Against All Odds,” “The Cape,” “The Giants,” “The Jewish Nazi?” and “The Platypus Garden.” Nominations for best telemovie or miniseries production are “While the Men Are Away,” “The Claremont Murders,” “Wellmania,” “The Messenger,” “Bad Behaviour” and “The Clearing.”

“2023 was a year filled with a number of challenges for our industry, but the Australian screen sector continued to delight audiences globally with stories that share our unique culture and creativity,” said Spa CEO Matthew Deaner.

Storm Brewing

Hong Kong-made crime action film “The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell...

Film Unlimited in Hong Kong has revealed the first look teaser trailer for a new Hk action film called Rob N Roll, from filmmaker Albert Mak. This is set to open in Hong Kong cinemas in January 2024, though no other international dates have been announced. Hong Kong pop star Aaron Kwok plays the lead character - a bucktoothed professional wrestler and robber who plans a major heist. The heist goes haywire when he meets two disillusioned middle-aged men. Gordon Lam co-stars as a taxi driver who unintentionally foils the heist, along with his friend played by Richie Jen. The trio ends up on the run from the cops and other criminals out to find them. The film's cast also includes Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Nancy Wu, Lam Suet, Leung Chung-hang, and Calvert Fu. This is a quick teaser with just a few glimpses of the action to whet our appetites. It doesn't look so bad,...

‘The Creator’ is opening in 655 cinemas through Disney.

Original sci-fi blockbuster The Creator leads the new titles at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, opening in 655 cinemas through Disney.

Directed by UK filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz, The Creator is set in a future where humans are at war with artificial intelligence, and a former soldier finds a secret robot weapon in the form of a young child.

The Creator is Edwards’ fourth feature film. His debut Monsters, also a sci-fi in which humans are battling for survival, opened to £348,577 in 2010, finishing on £952,963. He has...

Lionsgate sets widest franchise opening with ‘Saw X’.

Original sci-fi blockbuster The Creator leads the new titles at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, opening in 655 cinemas through Disney.

Directed by UK filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz, The Creator is set in a future where humans are at war with artificial intelligence, and a former soldier finds a secret robot weapon in the form of a young child.

The Creator is Edwards’ fourth feature film. His debut Monsters, also a sci-fi in which humans are battling for survival, opened to £348,577 in 2010, finishing on £952,963. He has...

Disney’s Agatha Christie adaptation “A Haunting in Venice” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second successive weekend with £1.4 million ($1.8 million), per numbers from Comscore.

The film, directed by Kenneth Branagh, where he plays detective Hercule Poirot, now has a total of £4.9 million after two weekends in release.

Lionsgate’s “Expend4bles” debuted in second place with £761,444. In its third weekend, Warner Bros.’ “The Nun II” scared up £703,819 in third position for a total of £5.1 million.

Sony’s “The Equalizer 3” collected £537,327 in fourth place in its fourth weekend for a total of £7.2 million. Blackbear’s “Dumb Money” debuted in fifth position with £506,095.

Yash Raj Films’ “Jawan,” starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, continued its golden run, taking in £207,470 in its third weekend for a total of £2.7 million.

Coming up midweek, on Sept. 27 is Trafalgar Releasing’s drama-romance “Surprised by Oxford.” Trafalgar has two more releases...

Hong Kong stars Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai play corrupt police officers in Philip Yung’s ambitious but over-the-top crime epic

This stunning-looking but chronologically restless Hong Kong-set crime epic unfurls across 50-odd years from the mid-20th century; it revolves around two frenemy protagonists, corrupt police officers played here by Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who were inspired by real-life Hong Kong cops/triad front men back in the day. Altogether, it’s a heady mix of potted history, period detail, violence, gangster lore, lust and lawlessness on which writer-director Philip Yung (Port of Call) really goes to town, splashing budget money like petrol all over the place and then throwing a lighted match on top just to see the pretty flames. The ambition and swagger is undeniably admirable, but the end result is a bit of a charred mess – or perhaps more flatteringly a burnt offering...

Where The Wind Blows

25th August 2023, London UK – Director Philip Yung's eagerly-awaited Where The Wind Blows, featuring two of Asian cinema's biggest stars, is released in UK cinemas from 29th September.

Philip Yung's long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed Port of Call is an ambitious, genre-bending epic loosely based on the rise and fall of the notorious “Four Great Sergeants” in 1960s Hong Kong. The film centres on the friendship and rivalry between two resourceful police detectives, Lui Lok and Nam Kong, who forge dangerous alliances with organised crime.

This first onscreen pairing of superstars Aaron Kwok (Port of Call) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Infernal Affairs) also boasts a scene stealing performance from Hong Kong Cinema icon Michael Hui (Godspeed). Director Yung says, “filming my favourite actors and actresses was like I had travelled back in time to grow with the old dreamy, glamorous Hong Kong”.

As well as being a glorious,...

Supported by the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office, London, Focus Hong Kong brings the very best in new and classic Hong Kong cinema to London in July, with a diverse programme of screenings at the presBgious BFI Southbank. Films include three of the most acclaimed and popular Hong Kong films of the year, with the UK Premieres of all-star crime epic Where the Wind Blows from award-winning director Philip Yung and horror anthology and international festival favourite Let it Ghost, and a special screening of social justice courtroom thriller A Guilty Conscience, one of Hong Kong's biggest box office hits of 2023 so far. Also included is the UK Premiere of a new 4K version of the Hong Kong New Wave classic Nomad, re-edited by director Patrick Tam after being heavily censored on its original release, starring the immortal Leslie Cheung in an early breakthrough role, screening to mark the 20th...

Hong Kong action film “The White Storm: Heaven or Hell” will have its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival, where it is a late addition to the line-up. The festival runs July 14–30, 2023 at Film at Lincoln Center (Flc).

Directed by Herman Yau, the film sees Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok and Sean Lau (aka Lau Ching-wan) appear together for the first time. It is set in the ‘Golden Triangle’ region famous for drugs production and trafficking. Kwok plays an undercover cop who infiltrates a drug cartel led by a notorious Thai drug lord (Lau). In classic heroic bloodshed fashion, the two develop a bond of brotherhood. The cop’s only hope of escaping the treacherous jungle region and his ambiguous morality is to somehow contact the superintendent of the Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau, who has solemnly sworn to demolish the cartel once and for all.

The predecessor...

Despite amassing a rather significant amount at the 1998 Hong Kong box office, reaching more than 41 million Hk$ in revenue, “The Storm Riders” was essentially a flop, since its budget was more than double that amount. This, however, did not prevent the movie from achieving cult status later on, particularly for its over-the-top action scenes and the imposing presence of Sonny Chiba.

by clicking on the image below

Based on the manhua series Fung Wan by artist Ma Wing-shing, the story begins when the evil Lord Conqueror, head of Conqueror's Clan, is given a prophecy by Mud Buddha when questioned about his delayed duel with Sword Saint. The prophecy states that if Conqueror finds two young children by the name of Wind and Cloud, he will have good fortune. Mud Buddha provides the birth charts of these two and gives him a puzzle box stating that finding Wind...

Chicago – The Asian Pop Up Cinema (Apuc), a Chicago cultural institution, launched Season 16 this past week with a sensational pre-season event featuring Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok and the Japan Cinema Showcase. Wrapping up the showcase is “Unami,” Click Here for details.

“With so much streaming content in the market, the festival’s priority is to select films made by new and seasoned filmmakers which are elevating, sophisticated, and told with a distinctive voice,” Sophia Wong Boccio – Apuc’s Founder, Curator and Executive Director – explained. “Audiences who come out to see our films in the cinema will come away with new insight on current societies in Asia or enjoy a new, distinctive filmmaking craft.” The festival will focus on a variety of films from Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Singapore and South Korea. Expert moderators representing each of the films/territories will facilitate discussions afterward. Also unique to Apuc...

Previous | Image 1 of 11 | NextAaron Kwok on the Apuc Red Carpet, March 14, 2023.

Chicago – Excitement was in the air in the first week of Season 16 for the Asian Pop Up Cinema (Apuc). It began on March 14th, 2023, with a Pre-Launch Special Event … an appearance from Hong Kong film and music superstar Aaron Kwok and the North American Premiere of his new film “Where the Wind Blows.” That was followed by the Opening weekend Japan Cinema Showcase, and an appearance by the actress Nahana for her new film “She is Me, I Am Her.”

Aaron Kwok is one of the best and brightest in Hong Kong, both as a pop singer and actor. He came in especially to represent “Where the Wind Blows” for the Asian Pop Up Cinema, to rock star acclaim at the AMC New City Cinema in Chicago. He received Apuc’s highest honor, the Award for Excellent Achievement in Film.

“Cyber Heist,” a crime thriller directed by Hong Kong’s Wong Hing-fan (“I’m Livin’ It”) and scripted by Soi Cheang (aka Cheang Pou Soi), took the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office over the weekend.

It earned a very modest $6.2 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. But that was enough to win on the quietest weekend since January’s Lunar New Year holiday season.

“Cyber Heist” stars Aaron Kwok as a cyber security engineer who develops a state-of-the-art firewall that is capable of fending off online attacks against the global financial system. But he does not realize that in doing so he has stepped into a minefield that is even more dangerous. The picture also stars Lam Ka-tun and Simon Yam.

The film overtook the previous weekend’s winner “A Guilty Conscience,” which earned $5.1 million in its second frame. The courtroom drama, which is now...

Milestone has only previously been surpassed by Hollywood blockbusters.

Courtroom drama A Guilty Conscience has made history at the Hong Kong box office as the first local film ever to reach Hk$100m ($12.75m), a figure only previously achieved by Hollywood tentpoles.

The feature from first-time director Jack Ng reached the milestone on February 21, just 32 days after its release on January 21 – the eve of Chinese New Year.

Only a handful of Hollywood films have previously hit Hk$100m at the Hong Kong box office, with recent titles including Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way Of Water. Others include Marvel...

‘My Nineteen-Year-Old Self’ withdrawn over public screening consent issues.

Courtroom drama The Sparring Partner has received 16 nominations for the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards, which saw the last-minute withdrawal of Mabel Cheung’s documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self.

The Sparring Partner, which marks the feature directorial debut of Ho Cheuk Tin, leads the pack with nominations in all but three categories. Based on the true story of a gruesome double murder case, its nods include best film, best director and five nominations for performers including lead actors Mak Pui Tung and Yeung Wai Lun. The film has become Hong Kong...

Hackers release a virus to the web that unleashes a large-scale cyber attack. Fortunately, cyber security engineer and It whiz, Cheuk Ka-Chun (Aaron Kwok) uses a firewall he developed to resolve the crisis. Unbeknownst to Ka-Chun, the mastermind behind this virus spread is his superior, Chan Ming-Chi (Gordon Lam) and Ka-Chun also falls victim to a money laundering conspiracy as a result. To prove his innocence, Ka-Chun engages in a fierce battle with Ming-Chi.

“I’m Livin’ It” director Danny Wong Hing Fan has been working hard on his sophomore feature film “Cyber Heist”, which has now released a trailer to follow the previously released teaser. What makes this project doubly exciting is that it has been written by Soi Cheang, who is coming off the back of the incredible success of his own film “Limbo”.

Synopsis

A cyber security engineer develops an AI programme with the potential to disable the region’s entire networks, but then has to prevent it falling into the wrong hands.

The cast is spearheaded by three bigwigs of the Hong Kong film industry, Aaron Kwok, Simon Yam and Gordon Lam Ka-tung. They are joined by Patrick Tam, Kenny Wong and Megan Lai. While there is no confirmed release date and previously announced release dates have been postponed, the film is expected to release in the coming months.

Philip Yung delivers an ambitious decade-spanning true crime thriller with Where The Wind Blows, Hong Kong’s entry for the International Feature Oscar. Previously known as Theory of Ambitions, it’s a technically impressive feat with an equally impressive cast lead by Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Fast-paced and dense with detail, it challenges the audience to keep up with its complex story of two cops rising up the ranks in Hong Kong in the 1960s and beyond.

Kwok plays Lui Lok, an initially sympathetic character whose principles set him apart from other policemen. His reluctance to accept bribes means he’s despised and even attacked, so he tries to find a way of surviving while doing some kind of good. Nam Kong (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) also wants to shake things up in a corrupt force, but may be more susceptible to temptation. While the two men are ostensibly in business together,...

Lui Lok (Aaron Kwok) became a police officer in order to uphold justice. But the rampant corruption within the police force made it impossible for him to remain independent. As a result, he decides to make a name for himself within the police force by controlling organized crime. (Source: Mubi)

Previously known as Theory of Ambitions, director-writer Philip Yung’s (Port of Call) true-crime drama is loosely based on the notorious “Four Great Sergeants” in 1960s Hong Kong. This movie boasts the first on-screen pairing of Hk megastars, Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung. The stellar cast also includes Michael Hui, Michael Chow, Elaine Jin, Tse Kwan-ho, Du Juan, Jessie Li and Patrick Tam Yiu-man. It finally received its world premiere at the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival earlier in August this year, after a four year delay widely known to be due to Chinese censorship. Where the Wind...

Over the course of 144 minutes, Philip Yung’s true-crime drama Where the Wind Blows covers an awful lot of ground. An epic in the style Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in New York, it pairs Asian superstars Tony Leung and Aaron Kwok in a story spanning several decades of police corruption in Hong Kong during its time as a British colony. The detail is sometimes dense, but the tone turns playful and refreshingly light at times, and there’s even a memorable musical routine for “The God of Dance” Kwok.

Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders International award-season event Saturday, Yung explained his reasons for wanting to make the film. “Hong Kong ended its colonial era in 1997, so it’s been 25 years,” he said. “Many changes have happened since then, and many people who lived during that time have gotten old or passed away. I wanted to leave behind...

The award-winning writing/directing duo Longman Leung and Sunny Luk strike again with a star-studded cast in this sequel to the 2012 megahit, Cold War. Chow Yun Fat joins Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Eddie Peng as they reprise their roles in the tumultuous aftermath of Operation Cold War.

A suspected criminal mastermind escapes from police custody, throwing the city into turmoil. With the police department now divided, rival police chiefs are forced to take their fight to the streets of Hong Kong – with deadly consequences.

(Source: Well Go USA)...

Riding on the box office success in Hong Kong of its “Table for Six,” Edko Films, the production, distribution and exhibition conglomerate headed by Bill Kong (“Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”), is launching a trio of new titles at the American Film Market this week.

One titles is courtroom drama “A Guilty Conscience,” which follows the aftermath of a manslaughter case in which a barrister’s mistake lands his supermodel client in jail. The path to an appeal, however, seems like justice itself is on trial.

Writer and director Jack Ng is making his feature directing debut on the drama; his track record as a writer that includes Edko’s 2021 hit “Anita” and “Cold War II.” The company’s confidence is such that the picture is set as Edko’s biggest title for the crucial Chinese New Year slot. It stars Dayo Wong and Louise Wong (“Anita”).

Eric Tsang Hing Wen...

Upcoming Hong Kong comedy will star Hins Cheung and Ivana Wong.

Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures (Emp) is set to release comedy Everything Under Control over the Chinese New Year period in mid-January 2023, buoyed by the recent commercial success of a string of Hong Kong productions.

It marks the second feature of director Ying Chi Wen and stars popular Hong Kong singer Hins Cheung in his second leading film role, Ivana Wong of recent hit comedy Table For Six and Michael Ning (Port Of Call) along with upcoming actors Jeffrey Ngai and Joey Hung Ka-Ho. Ying’s feature debut...

Hong Kong has selected the crime thriller Where the Wind Blows as its official submission to this year’s International Feature Oscar race.

Directed by Philip Yung, the film follows four corrupt police officers who rose to power in 1960s Hong Kong played Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Aaron Kwok, Patrick Tam, and Michael Chow.

Photo Gallery: Best International Feature Film Oscar Winners

With a reported budget of 38m, the crime epic is one of the most expensive Hong Kong films of all time.

The film was set to open the 2021 edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, but it was pulled from the lineup shortly before its world premiere with festival organizers citing “technical reasons.”

Vague technical issues have increasingly become a common euphemism for last-ditch censorship efforts by Chinese film regulators. Similar “technical issues” were cited when the Shanghai film festival yanked the Huayi Brothers’ big-budget Chinese war drama...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

The two titles are star-studded and long-postponed.

Two long-postponed and star-studded films – Philip Yung’s Where The Wind Blows and Ng Yuen Fai’s Warriors Of Future – will open the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff) in August. It was announced today (July 27) at a media event in Hong Kong.

Where The Wind Blows was selected as one of Hkiff’s opening films last year, but it pulled out just a few days before its world premiere due to “technical reasons”.

The crime drama features two of Asia’s biggest stars, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Aaron Kwok as two...

Hong Kong director Alan Mak has brought together award-winning actors Francis Ng (“Drifting”) and Aaron Kwok in new Hong Kong crime thriller “Insider,” 22-years after the two shared the big screen together.

Produced by Tenky Tin for Emperor Motion Picture, the film also stars Simon Yam and Niki Chow. A start of production ceremony took place on Monday, attended by Emp supremo Albert Yeung. Kwok also uploaded images to his Instagram account. International sales are yet to be announced.

Ng and Kwok last worked together in Gordon Chan-directed action thriller “2000 Ad” (2000).

In “Insider,” Ng plays a police officer, who rubs up against a lawyer played by Kwok. But the two later became friends and collaborators to fight against the antagonist. The filming will involve large amounts of action and gunfight scenes.

The announcement of the new production also marks what could be a sign of recovery of the local film industry,...

Hong Kong’s Entertaining Power reporting sales prices have returned to pre-Covid levels.

Hong Kong’s Entertaining Power has sold four anticipated star-led features to Taiwan’s Sky Films in a package deal closed during the Cannes market - where prices are understood to be returning to pre-Covid levels.

The titles include Lee Po Cheung’s As It Burns, a suspense thriller involving two fatal explosions that take place 15 years apart but are linked by two women that look alike. The cast is led by Taiwanese actor Jasper Liu, who shot to fame after 2018’s pan-Asian box office hit More Than Blue,...

TV series adaptations of “Fearless” and “Cold War,” two of the highest-profile Hong Kong action movies of the 21st century, are now in development.

The shift into TV represents a major expansion and diversification for Edko Films, the studio headed by legendary producer-financier-executive Bill Kong.

The original 2006 “Fearless” was an iconic portrait of martial arts ace Huo Yianjia that was directed by Ronny Tong and starred Jet Li. It received studio-level distribution in many territories through Buena Vista, Uip and Sony Pictures Releasing.

“Cold War” is a 2012 crime action film involving a mole inside the Hong Kong police. It was written and co-directed by Longman Leung and Sunny Luk and had Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Charlie Young in lead roles. It spawned a sequel movie in 2016 with an even higher profile cast that included Chow Yun-fat and Eddie Peng.

“We have often received inquiries from abroad about buying...

Festival was forced to cancel April dates after a wave of Covid cases.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff) has announced it will host its 46th edition from August 15-21, after previously being forced to postpone due to a rapid rise of Covid-19 cases in the city.

Organisers are planning a hybrid approach of in-person and online screenings for the 17-day festival, similar to the approach Hkiff took in 2021 after being cancelled altogether in 2020 at the start of the outbreak. The full programme will be unveiled in July.

Hkiff’s Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival, which usually takes...

Further titles include Herman Yau’s War Customised and Alan Mak’s Insider.

Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures (Emp) has unveiled a slate of 12 upcoming films, including a sequel to Zhang Yimou’s box office hit Cliff Walkers and new all-star features from Herman Yau and Alan Mak.

It has also released the first images of Felix Chong’s The Goldfinger, which reunites Infernal Affairs stars Tony Leung and Andy Lau for the first time in nearly 20 years (see below).

The 12 titles, along with two projects in development, equate to an investment of $191.7m (Hk$1.5b), representing the company...