Latest update October 21st, 2015 12:41 PM
Five APM Film Projects To Follow
Photo Credit: Asian Film Market
This year, there are altogether 30 film projects at Asian Project Market during the 20th Busan International Film Festival, from India, Vietnam, Qatar, Iran, UK, Kuwait, China and Korea, etc.
Here are 5 projects that The Chinese Film Market editorial team finds most interesting.
- Project #2: The Adventure of Han Meimei
In China, almost all those born after 1980s are familiar with Han Meimei and Li Lei – they are the main characters featured on the junior high English textbooks. So the title of this China-Korea co-production is already a winner, which shall save millions of marketing fee when the film hits the cinema.
The story shows a middle-aged Han Meimei leaving her perfect life but wearisome marriage to pursue her past dreams and find her true self. Sounds familiar? It will be interesting to see how veteran producer Ahn Dongkyu and young director Kim Junghan shall present it in a different approach. Kim has just finished his first feature Encounter, a co-prod between Ahn’s Dhuta, Ltd. and China’s Emei Film Production. Ahn is also co-producing Tik Tok with Hairun Pictures, Ltd.
More details to be found here.
- Project #12: LONDON STORIES
LONDON STORIES tells stories of four women living in London over the course of 24 hours: morning, afternoon, evening and midnight. It tries to present what lies beneath the touristy surface of this modern city.
The very young director Hana Makhmalbaf has a feeling that although there are people who have moved to London from all over the world, many still cling to their old traditions as if they are still living in their home countries, say Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, India or China. We are curious to see how Makhmalbaf shall portray these women’s daily struggles with the backdrop of their different cultures.
More details to be found here.
- Project #19: The Princess Spring
“The story is about how a Transsexual teaches a woman how to be a woman. The society does not allow the women to build themselves as they wish.”
A 35-year-old brilliant Turkish woman architect Bahar (spring) divorces her husband and leaves her children behind to pursue her life and resume her career. Bahar and Dilek (a Transsexual) help each other.
The creative duo Çağla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti want to question the convention why men can leave their wives and children to get a life without accusation while women will be scolded if doing the same thing. Meanwhile, they want to explore the phenomenon that transsexuals can be more feminine than women because they choose their gender and are more comfortable about their own body. “They were born as men, so they did not have the pressure as the little girls had.”
Previous films made by Zencirci and Giovanetti were selected by festivals like Cannes, Berlinale, Toronto and Rotterdam, etc., winning a number of awards. Gender issues are their core creative motifs.
More details to be found here.
- Project #23: Sunrise
Director Adilkhan Yerzhanov believes what hides within a movie’s tone, atmosphere, form and cinematic language. Sunrise tells a story of son goes to his reclusive father and exposes his secrets. With a series of dreams or fantasies, this movie is expected to be both simplistic and realistic. Inspired by Yuri Norstein’s animation Hedgehog in the Fog (1975), Yerzhanov intends to display a visible silence of the soul.
Adilkhan Yerzhanov has made feature films Realtors (2011), Constructors (2013), and the Kusturica-ish The Owners (2014). Winning NETPAC prizes twice, these films traveled to Cannes, Toronto, Edinburgh and Brisbane. He also directed a documentary for the Power of Asian Cinema series (for Busan International Film Festival and KBS).
Sunrise is looking for a producer to co-produce this film at the budget of 400,000 USD.
More details to be found here.
- Project #27: UNLOSABLE
Director CJ Wang came back with her first feature film project UNLOSABLE after screening her short film Rowboat last year in Busan.
“Motherhood never stops” is a common idea, and CJ wants to explore whether a woman can retire from motherhood in this film. A mother is supposed to find balance among different social roles with lots of sacrifices.
UNLOSABLE begins with the father’s retirement party, which starts a totally different order in the house – everybody now needs to adjust his or her position at home.
Producer Michelle Yeh has worked with films like Eternal Summer (Leste Chan, 2006), My DNA Says I Love You (Lee Yun Chan, 2007) and Love in Disguise (Wang Lee-hom, 2010), etc. She thinks this film project has the authenticity that is quite rare in today’s prospering Chinese language film industry.
More details to be found here. An interview with the director will also be published soon.
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