Paris projects tap rich vein at HAF

---

---

Market News

The 2012 Paris Project Meetings (2-4 Jul), part of the 10th Festival Paris Cinema (29 Jun — 10 Jul), has announced its lineup of films seeking investment and co-production partners. Of the fourteen projects selected, six originate from Asia.

Two are presented in partnership with the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) 香港亞洲電影投資會, Gurvinder SINGH's The Fourth Direction Chauthi koot and Jessey TSANG 曾翠珊's Flowing Stories 河上變村.

Both were recipients of the Paris Project Award in March at the Hong Kong event.

Singh's 1984-set The Fourth Direction combines two short stories by Waryam SINGH SANDHU that recount two harrowing journeys by ordinary people during the most turbulent — and bloody — years of post-independence India.

Flowing Stories documents Tsang's home village in Hong Kong's New Territories, where she spent 30 years of her life, interviewing different generations. The village was also the setting of her recent narrative feature Big Blue Lake 大藍湖 (2011).

Also originating at HAF is Flora LAU 劉韻文's Bends 過界 about an affluent housewife, her Chinese chauffeur and his pregnant wife. It explores the politically sensitive issue of pregnant mothers who cross the border to give birth in Hong Kong.

Other projects include WANG Chao 王超's Looking for Rohmer 尋找羅麥, originally presented at the Shanghai International Film Festival 上海國際電影節. It is a road movie featuring a man and a woman — who both feel responsible for their friend's death in Tibet — making a journey together from Paris to Province.

Khavn DE LA CRUZ's Ruined Heart! Another Love Story between a Criminal and a Whore "explores the connection between love and violence". It is inspired by his 15-minute short that competed at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

Bikas Ranjan MISHRA's Four Colours चौरंगा — previously presented at the Locarno Film Festival, Berlinale Talent Campus and Goa's Film Bazaar — is the story of a 14-year-old boy's infatuation within the setting of the rigid caste system in rural India.

The project market also continues it Taiwan Workshop, in partnership with the Taipei Film Commission 臺北市電影委員會. It highlights four projects that are candidates to be European co-productions. Three are by recognised Taiwan-based directors.

The titles include SHEN Ko-shang 沈可尚's Malaysia-set coming-of-age fable Songs of the Siren 賽蓮之歌, CHUNG Mong-hong 鍾孟宏's psychological drama Soul 失魂 (also from HAF) and Tom Lin's No More Shall We Part 鄰家女孩, which he describes as a "twisted Lolita complex love story".

The titles in the Paris Project Screenings, presenting films still in post-production, will be announced next week. Festival Paris Cinema will announce the complete lineup of its large Hong Kong film tribute later today.

 
PARIS PROJECT MEETINGS 2012

• Bends; dir. Flora Lau [Hong Kong]
• Flowing Stories; dir. Jessey Tsang [Hong Kong]
• Four Colours; dir. Bikas Ranjan Mishra [India]
• The Fourth Direction; dir. Gurvinder Singh [India]
• Looking for Rohmer; dir. Wang Chao [China]
• Ruined Heart! Another Love Story between a Criminal and a Whore; dir. Khavn De La Cruz [Germany/Philippines]

 
TAIWAN WORKSHOP 2012

• Crossing; dir. Eicke Bettinga [Germany]
• No More Shall We Part; dir. Tom Lin [Taiwan]
• Songs of Siren; dir. Shen Ko-shang [Taiwan]
• Soul; dir. Chung Mong-hong [Taiwan]

---