Hoi Ki Ivan Law

High on the Tibetan Plateau, the old way of life is on the decline. We follow the nomads of Ritoma as they navigate the collision of tradition and modernity.

One day, the Kowloon Emperor TSANG Man-choi pays a visit to OR Siu-yat, his guard dog of previous life and a current staff of the Community Improvement Bureau, with an incredible story and request. According to TSANG, the Bureau’s plan to redevelop To Kwa Wan will destroy an ancient seal and unleash a vengeful evil spirit, Princess Kwong Tak, who was murdered by TSANG’s ancestor 400 years ago. To save themselves OR must assist TSANG to destroy the evil spirit. In this rare gem of a martial arts/fantasy short film, the impossible battle between human and spirit is playfully visualised.

Kwan believes that she is unique. Enclosed in solitude within her own literary world and deprived of affections from her family, she longs for love in whatever form it takes - no matter how distorted. She considers the detention class with Mr Cheung a shelter from the world, until it is shattered together with all her hopes. She finally comes to the realisation that it is the world that goes against her. There is no hiding place for her no matter how hard she struggles……

Bible of Kong Girls takes a look at three women exploring their lives and dilemmas within the space of a year. Splitting the film segments into the four seasons of the year, we follow Asther, Sai B and C-fu. The three modern, spirited and quirky women are introduced to an article, ‘The 37 Self-help Guidelines from Lee Ka-shing’s Private Secretary’ that serves as a sort of bible for the woman of today. With each passing season the women encounter another challenge life throws at them whilst following the rules of the article, but are these guidelines tearing the friends apart instead of helping them?

Angela has no doubt that "one of these days, father will come back from the outer space to take her away because he is an alien." This thought was instilled by Angela's mother who committed suicide due to severe mental illness. Ever under the watchful eyes of her grandmother and psychiatrist, Angela starts to hear voices from the sky. Weary and scared, the grandmother has no choice but to send Angela for hospitalization. Angela's belief and longing for reunion with her parents grow stronger than ever. Eventually, she takes a leap of faith in finding her own destiny.

Her name’s Pong, Mrs. Pong. At first glance, she’s a meek, middle-aged woman, pleasantly plump and perfectly harmless. Yet as circumstances demand it, she’s not your ordinary mother, nor a long-suffering widow for that matter. Her missions? To pull her son out of peril while standing up to bullies and saving homes from being uprooted and demolished in the name of urban renewal. Mrs. Pong effortlessly transforms from an armchair survivalist to a fearless heroine hell-bent on her mission, trading punches and kicks for frying pans and woks, awakening a rebellious spirit that wars against exploitation and oppression in a system tilted towards the rich and powerful.

Japanese band Aomori Hensou is the only thing that makes Mei Bo feels alive in this mundane city until she meets Lily, her new neighbour. It happens that Lily is also a huge fan of the band so they start to get along with each other like twin sisters. They wander around the city, from second-hand CD shops, to goldfish market, and other secret spots that nobody knows. Lily eventually gets tired of the excitement from Mei Bo and starts exploring the city on her own. One day Lily appears at the door of Mei Bo’s home together with the news of the break up announcement of their favourite band, but there is only an empty room left in front of her.

Life after university may be just dandy for people with passion and drive, but what happens if you are aimless, dreamless and hopeless? With no goals or ambition in life, a fresh graduate believes that she is an oddball destined for mediocrity. Her perfect solution is to be a slacker and to work part-time at a 12-dollar store. Unfortunately, the mundane life and wacky colleagues just add to her melancholy. The array of eccentric characters at the 12-dollar store speaks volumes on how the new generation perceives their less-than-rosy future.

Although the Chinese government promised that Hong Kong would retain separate status until 2047, in recent years the Chinese state has consolidated its power over the metropolis. Large-scale protests by the populace have been brutally suppressed. This mix of documentary, fiction, and visions of the future reveals the current state of desolate depression among the people of Hong Kong. “A desperate attempt to capture the final moments of a sinking island”, as maker Chan Tze-woon himself puts it.

Fai is mired in work on a project that appears to foreshadow the wake-up call he is about to receive. Rushing to the bedside of her grandmother, he is shocked to learn that not only she is at risk of being paralysed following a stroke but that her faculties have been compromised by advanced Alzheimer’s. Entrusted with the care of the grandmother’s canine companion, he is confronted with the sad reminder that a man’s best friend has taken the place of absent family members and filled in the emotional void, prompting him to reassess the priorities in his life and make amends for neglecting an endearing figure in his childhood.

At some point in life an age-old question will inevitably crop up: Do we swim against the tide or go with the flow? The band, Against the Tide, was doomed before it even started. A year later, the songwriter is selling his soul to catchy pop tunes and commercial music, hitching his wagon to else’s grand schemes while being hitched by a young music devotee; the bassist is venturing north across the border; the drummer is working as an insurance agent and all set for fatherhood. Before the factory building is demolished for a lucrative redevelopment scheme, the band members, bar one, return to their studio to clear out the place, contemplating making a final appearance for a farewell gig. The reunion takes place, albeit obliquely, each member putting their best foot forward to steer their own course.

Lai decides to take a walk on one sleepless night. The scenario is all so familiar, where skater boy is being swept away by the security guard, and gang members getting night snacks at the convenient store. But this night is meant to mean something to Lai which leads her to Shadow, a teenage girl who is having a fight with her boyfriend on the street, and her cat Blacky. The cat helps the two of them to run away from his violence. Shadow may seem too young to know about the world, but not until that moment of encounter, does Lai find her way out.

Acting is not always a life of glamour and excitement, and is often filled with sweat and tears. Devoted actor Gus is crushed when he fails to cry on cue. As self-doubt sinks in, he hears that his father has suffered a sunstroke. He decides to help at his father’s company and cast his dream aside. When his friend Mo offers him a role in a new film, he declines but not before Mo shoves him the script. When he starts to read the script at night, he is amazed to find that the plot is identical to the events around him. In the realm of a dream-like script or a script-like dream, Gus ponders his life as an actor and finds his own direction.

Agnes and Qing are Hong Kong's representative rhythmic swimming athletes. They have swept the pairs event awards since childhood. Unexpectedly, an epidemic brought the world to a standstill and caused a sudden change in their relationship. Agnes found that she had different emotions and could not get rid of the desire for Qing's body. To escape her desire, she even had sex with her pursuer Amin. As her life becomes more chaotic, she is deprived of her qualifications for the main election. Watching Qing practice a pas de deux with others, Agnes becomes jealous and discovers that she not only did not love Amin, she didn't enjoy sex with him. Agnes returned to practice, hoping to regain her body pride, but without a swimming pool and close friends, she couldn't dance the pas de deux. When they were unable to jump down, Qing appeared like a gift, and the two climbed into the pool without water.

Liza, once a notorious mob boss, has always been strategically planning the career of her only son Yan. It is however never in Yan’s intention to follow her mother’s footsteps - instead he aspires to be a filmmaker. As a mob, Yan is highly incompetent, and his disappointing performance already messed up a simple drug deal. Liza desperately tries to save her most sought-after son, but she ends up, along with her son, breaking into her neighbour Mr. Chan's home. They accidentally steal the head of Mrs. Chan, whom they assume was murdered by Mr. Chan. They recklessly decide to blackmail Mr. Chan, and everything goes out of control. Will Liza and her beloved son survive this crisis?