Fresh Wave

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?

On 6th March 2011, 113 protesters in Hong Kong were arrested for "Unlawful Assembly" after they stormed the traffic lanes of Central during a demonstration against the budget proposal. Protesters were placed in the canteen of the police station for questioning in groups due to inadequate rooms. Three protesters and three police officers, six people with different political views sitting around the table. The copy machine is out of order; it's going to be a long night. So they started chatting.

16-year-old Allen lives a chaotic and underprivileged life. Defeated by life from the start, Allen finds joy and hope in hurdling, his favourite sport which he often wins in competitions during middle school. A cruel fate awaits him when he enters high school. Because of his height, his performance is suddenly hampered and he cannot even handle the basic 3-step hurdle. His hope of being in the school team is dashed, let alone winning over his teammates. The more desperately he tries, the more he realises his goal is beyond reach. Can Allen overcome this challenge before high school ends?

Fishermen couple Ah Shing and Mei-wah, having lived from boat to shore, stayed together for most of their lives. After their son grew up, they have different visions towards the rest of their days. Ah Shing insists on fishing amid the decline of the local fishing industry. Mei-wah works as a factory worker and wishes for a more stable life. Even when there are subtle and profound changes in their relationships due to the different views, their affections for each other never stopped and they still support each other. This story is based on the real-life experience of the director's parents, and they play their own character in the film.

When Chan is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decides to end his own life, but his grandson unexpectedly brings him an abandoned old dog. The encounter cannot change their destinies but allow them to accept changes that inevitably happen.

The film is set in a future when the central government attempts to replace every citizen’s name with numbers. In such a social upheaval, Ma Yi cares nothing but cancels an auto-masturbating machine. While Ma Yi doesn’t violate the law, he is however arrested and interrogated by the police.

Mothers often go to extremes and make sacrifices for their children, including feigning madness. Fun-nei's mother has been kept in custody in a mental hospital for killing her husband, leaving daughters Fun-nei and Si-ling on their own. Fun-nei later achieves success by making her eventful life story into a documentary. One day the mother escapes from the hospital and returns home. Furious that Si-ling has not reported the escape, Fun-nei clashes with her sister and films the conflict, eventually unveiling the hidden truth.

Ching’s mother asks Ching to take her grandmother in until she is sent to a nursing home and that makes her ponder over her relationship with her mother. Three generations of women, each has their own share of pain.

Hui-man has the body of a beast. As a former social worker, he still wishes to help others, especially his loved one Ning, a headstrong beauty who resists the world and who lives in the ruins after leaving her wealthy family. Both fight for survival and face their own needs and fears. Reunited despite obstacles, they only wish for a simple candlelight dinner without fanfare.

In our daydreams, we always dream about who we can be and what we can do. Chak is always living between his dream state – where he is admired and can get any girl he wants – and the reality – where he is constantly teased by his sexually frustrated, foul-mouthed friends. One day, Chak's dream becomes reality when he finds the acceptance of a girl he likes, but cruel reality eventually stops him once more. Instead of running away, Chak must face the real world head-on this time around.

"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?"

It was the time when thousands of families left Hong Kong to look for a ‘better future’. After almost 20 years of separation, here comes the reunion dinner for a father and his daughter. The awkward distance between the two make them seem like strangers, but deep in their hearts hide their missing for each other. Memories intertwined with the present, both of them know that what really matters is your beloved ones are all well.

Legendary chef Mo Yik-Tin is notorious for turning animals into spectacular dishes – tastes always rule over lives under the butcher's knife. Equally thoughtful and fascist, Mo is a fascinating mentor in the eyes of his apprentice. In subtle tension with the TV programme's host, Mo is poised to present his greatest culinary dishes which set off an intense debate with the programme host. A reflection on the general public's food-obsessed culture and celebrity worship, this feature also highlights human's decadence and corrupt excess through the aesthetics of food.

The film is a resonant portrayal of the younger generation in the post-Umbrella Movement era. Two years ago, Ah-man (Ng Wing-sze), an independent yet stubborn university student, left home after a furious argument with her mum when the Umbrella Movement broke out. Now, she undertakes a new kind of lifestyle – a life of a vegetarian and an organic farmer. However, she never stops thinking of the taste from home. With the film's fragmentary narrative style, Ah-man’s story also reflects the ambivalent decisions between family and society of her friends.

The story is told from the point of view of a high school girl called Jessie (Jessica Wong) whose talent for the Chinese board game Go has earned her the nickname ‘Queen Chess’. She balances her time between practising Go and hanging out with her boyfriend (Yau Hawk-sau Neo). The former seems to win for this studious girl, but it is clear she’s also seeking something to pull her out of this lonely life of late-night computer games.

Art imitates life in this charming short about the fictional actress LilyMoon. With a chance encounter and a lost autobiographical manuscript, a bartender becomes acquainted with the retired screen star. Their friendship blossoms as LilyMoon reminisces about her past including her life as a sought-after actor, non-existent childhood and memories of first love. Eventually, the young and well-meaning bartender helps to relieve LilyMoon's pent-up feelings of sadness and encourages her to meet a long-lost lover.

What constitutes a “disadvantaged youth”? Man Hang did have noble and lofty goals for his life after graduation, but they were quickly crushed by the harsh reality of life. Working an unglamorous job at a warehouse along a colleague with autism, Man Hang was bullied by his boss with unreasonable demands. His mind wanders back to his school days especially when he was seated next to Wing Lok, a classmate with autism who was constantly ridiculed and taunted by the class. During reunions, Man Hang and his friends mused on the irony: With all of them having similarly unremarkable careers, are their lives more fulfilling than Wing Lok who could remain true to himself?

Nine works for an old laundry shop due for closure to make way for urban renewal projects. Ordered to return a washed suit and pocket watch to an old customer, Nine starts a journey within the area soon to be transformed beyond recognition. He encounters a number of local residents who treasure and preserve the unique charm of the area. A conversation with his grandfather who repairs old chairs prompted Nine reflections on the values of preservation and the apparent priority of all things new only made possible by sacrificing things and memories from older eras. This observant piece stars veteran actress Lora Lu and stage actors Au Yeung Chun and Sheung Ming-fai.

Life and death are decreed by fate, so the wisdom goes—but who really controls our first and last breath? When we are vulnerable, is the omniscient and omnipotent Heavenly Father the only refuge? The pastor’s wife is terminally ill. By her death bed is the devoted younger son who wishes to minimize her suffering by withholding life support so that she can leave in peace. The pastor, however, insists on obeying the doctrines and God’s will. As signs of impending death approach, is the pastor simply waiting for a miracle? A difficult debate ensues when love for the family conflicts with religious obligations.

The title is an allusion to the Chinese gambling game but the story is a treacherous journey with high stakes and a handsome reward. Three friends brave rugged terrain to escape hardship and persecution, surviving on foraged food and their meagre possessions – a pack of ciggies, the Little Red Book of Chairman Mao and three dices – all the while hounded by Red Guards on patrol. Loyalty, friendship and life are bet against a new beginning in the city where the streets are allegedly paved with gold. The odds are against them and the chance of survival is a row of the dice.