Content from Hong Kong Arts Development Council

Leaving music school, the happy-go-lucky Ling returns to Hong Kong to her dementia-stricken father, on whom she tries to conduct music therapy. Her demurer older sister Munn, the caretaker and sole supporter of the family, watches with disapproval. Playing the piano piece her father once taught her, Ling seems to register some change in her father’s condition, a glimmer of hope amidst the abyss of oblivion. However, secret animosity and rivalry eventually leads to open conflict between the two sisters, bringing out long-time family traumas. Will music save them?

What’s the price one will pay for one’s beliefs? Chan Siu-yau’s life is forced to a halt after being charged, somewhat belatedly, with unlawful assembly and assaulting a police officer during a demonstration in support of striking dock workers over a year ago. In the eyes of fellow activists, she’s no radical, just a concerned citizen singled out for punishment amid an escalating tug-of-war between law enforcement authorities and rights advocates. While Yau is working her shift in a restaurant, busy taking orders and sorting out dirty dishes, the annual June 4 candlelight vigil takes place in the pelting rain, bodies soaked but high spirits undamped. Having missed her university admission exams with two criminal charges looming over her head, what does the future hold for her? Is she guilty as charged?

Ricky leaves Hong Kong for Switzerland to look for the lost soul and the past of his deceased Swiss lover, Pascal. Ricky struggles with the confusion of memories, reality and illusion.

Gay partners Chan Yui and Ka Wing are happily in love, until Chan Yui enters a marriage of convenience with his lesbian friend Fung Ming to appease his parents. Under great pressure, Ka Wing is forced to accept this sham marriage but can things ever go back to normal?

Centering on a girl who has learned she is pregnant, the film traces the intersecting paths of several young people across a night of the full moon.

In a traditional fishing village where most youngsters have left to work in the city, the older generations are left behind. Ren, a widow who lives in the village helps her neighbour, Mrs Wah, to deliver a gift to her son, Chung in the city. Ren finds out that Chung is leading a harsh life. Back in the village, there is no one with whom she can share this secret. The only refuge from the sleepless night is her deceased husband. A Thousand Sails is a short tale about the poignant separation between city and village, mother and son, life and death. With long shots and sophisticated art direction, Eric Tsang Hing-weng compellingly captures the actors’ performances, especially that of Professor Chow Po-chung’s surprising debut.

“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” Inside an after-hours bowling alley, a counselling session is underway with the attendances discussing the various merits and drawbacks of execution strategies and the prevention of occupational hazards. A man offers to play the flute and all hell breaks loose from there. The weapon is a folded chair, the victims his fellow professionals and the crime is predestined by karma. As the camera lingers on the gory actions, set to offbeat music and at times muted and occurring out-of-frame, a foreboding, dark and somewhat sinister overtone hangs heavy in the air. In a profession such as his, life is predestined by karma and choice is not an option.

As a con man who actually takes professional pride in his work as a psychic scam artist, Man Chun was just released from prison. Both his uncle and girlfriend try to set his path straight again, but he revels his old days of performing rituals to tell fortunes and 'heal' people. Having a clear conscience and defending his affirmations on being a charlatan, he reconnects with his master and continues with the old trade. While Man Chun is addicted to the psychic world and thriving, the patience of his loved ones is wearing thin. When unexpected circumstances unfold, will Man Chun retain his faith in his vocation?

Mable, the daughter of HK's infamous rogue cop is at a loss when her father's old debts lead to the murder of her mother. With the help of Inspector Lok and the sage guidance of her God Grandfather, she uncovers a truth she never could have imagined.

Ms Chan, a social worker who has just returned to work, receives her first case. She pays a visit to Jia, a single elderly who seems to have accidentally dialled the Care-on-Call Service. Jia has suspicious bruises on his face and Ms. Chan senses a possible family abuse situation. However, Jia’s attitude is unwelcoming and he sends her off right away. Since then, a series of peculiar events make Ms. Chan question her own sense of reality and sanity.

Gun is a loan shark. Having worked hard for years, i.e. intimidating and threatening his debtors, he musters just enough money to purchase a house for the family. The plan is at risk, however, when one of his debtors dies and Gun discovers that he is not the only creditor. Out of desperation, he asks for his daughter’s help, who is unwilling to be involved in her father’s shady business. The simmering tension causes a rift in the family.

At first glance, Grandma Mui and Uncle Cheung look just like another ordinary elderly couple loitering outside a school wall. Grandma Mui is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and her conditions deteriorate notably after the death of her granddaughter Ka-ching from a fall off the school building, with the school officials suspected of negligence and being dishonest in their testimony. Stricken by grief, Grandma Mui’s mind falls into complete chaos as memories, delusions and reality mesh together. Uncle Cheung, indirectly connected to Ka-ching’s death, lacks the courage to tell the truth. As an act of atonement, he takes care of Grandma Mui even when the future looks bleak.

An umbrella standing alone in the rain by the road. Is it a magical umbrella that protects its owner, or a curse? Sum-yu, a reserved young woman, suffers daily sexual harassment in the office by her male colleagues and superior. All this changes when she comes across a blood-red umbrella on a rainy night, unleashing a malevolent spirit and transforming her into a merciless avenger against the men who have wronged her. Can wrongs of the past life be righted in the current one? A modern ghost story incorporating body horror motifs, the short relates a bloody and thrilling tale of contemporary gender relations.

A girl called Christy is missing. The case haunts Detective Max, time and time again, leaving him with a sense of remorse. Following a trail, Max arrives at an abandoned school where he finds traces of a cult ritual and a murder scene. Suddenly he finds himself in a stylish bar where he sees his former colleague and Christy. Meanwhile the murderer is lurking behind... Will Max find hope and redemption from the dismal past? Shot in black and white, this mysterious thriller employs the stylistic elements of neo-noir and horror to recreate our urban terrors of missing people.

"This is a story of fall: of falling into traps and for lies and scams, of falling in love and falling out of love, and of falling for your own lies and falling back into the old ways, spectacularly. Michelle enrols in a self-help course in the hope that she will make her married lover come to his senses and treats her right. When the chanting of positive self-affirmations – Peace! Friendship! Love! – descends into uncontrollable screaming and wailing, will the newly converted be able to see things in a new light or will she wrapped herself up in the shining armour of self-victimisation to keep her from hurting?"

Ching’s parents are retirees ready to leave for Taiwan where a new chapter awaits them. The only thing holding them back is their daughter’s hesitation to join them. Unbeknownst to them, Ching is stuck in an affair with a married man. She is constantly teetering between trust and distrust, clinging on unfulfilled promises instead of letting go. Life has presented a difficult crossroad to her as she weighs between acting for her own good and following what the heart desires.

The average person’s head has up to 100,000 hairs. Each strand may be unique in length and texture but they are said to bear our memories of sorrow and worry. Neighbors come to the old shop “Barber’s Time” to part with both their hair and bad memories. Although Cantonese style haircutting is on the slippery slope to extinction, barber shop owner Hoi-chuen wishes for his son Cheung-fat to manage the shop. Aspiring to be a writer like J. D. Salinger instead, Cheung-fat takes over “Barber’s Time” when his father had an accident. Just like his father, Cheung-fat develops rapport with the customers and provides guidance. His own life also turns around when a runaway girl comes to the shop. A magical heartwarming tale of community support and kindness, the short features Kaki Shum from the film “Weeds of Fire”.

A directorial effort from Ashley Cheung, a promising and up-and-coming scriptwriter. An excellent dramatic short film with the brilliant performance of Joman Chiang, the Queen of independent films, and Himmy Wong of Weeds on Fire. Nim Cheung is a senior counsellor of the Suicide Prevention Hotline. She is still suffering from the death of her little daughter. One day, she receives a phone call of a young man who is attempting suicide. She finds out that he is the one responsible for her daughter’s death. What will she do facing this dilemma, which may cause complete different stories to both of their lives?

"The more difficulties you suffer, the more you need to change and overcome." A shadow of his former self, Siu-ho is a tattooist who works for the triad and put tattoos on betrayers as punishment. His best friend Tyson, a fighter past his prime of life, also succumbs to reality and works on a job which he detests. As both of them experience a desperate period in their lives, they try to remind themselves the pursuit of life through the pain of tattooing and fighting. Fame and glory are not their goals, but feeling alive is. With too many forces in the city threatening to dash their dreams, will they succeed in forging ahead?

A time and space that get mixed up, A brother and a sister, One who loves starting fire, Whereas the other loves extinguishing it, An unusual relationship.