HÀ NỘI — Movie “The Third Wife” by Vietnamese director Nguyễn Phương Anh recently won the G2D Post-Production Award (Work In Progress Laboratory Project) at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF).

The film will be presented in May at the Cannes Market under a new “Hong Kong Goes to Cannes” programme. Three other winning projects will be screened at the Cannes Market -- “Omotenashi,” a Taiwanese-Japanese creation directed by Jay Chern; “Village Rockstars” by Rima Das of India; and “Echoes” by an Israeli director.

The 15th HAF was held in Hong Kong between March 13 and 15, gathering 1,000 filmmakers and financials experts from 35 countries and territories in Asia. The organisers received 1,000 compete projects.

Hong Kong film project “Impossible Split” and an untitled Japanese film project emerged the top winners of the HAF Awards. In its 15th year, the HAF project offered 14 prizes to 33 producer and director teams seeking finance and international partners.

Winner of the Hong Kong Project category was “Impossible Split”, a US$1.2 million drama based on the true story of Hong Kong sportsman Wu Siu-hong, who went through several ups and downs on his path to becoming a world champion bowler. It will be directed by Tommy Tom Chung-sing, who was involved in the post-production of “Kill Bill” and “Kung Fu Hustle”.

The untitled Japanese film that won the HAF’s non-Hong Kong award will be directed by Tehran-born director Ida Panahandeh and produced by Japan’s Kawase Naomi. To be produced with a budget of $500,000, it will be shot in Nara and is positioned as a modern version of “one of Shakespeare’s pieces with a woman character” as the lead role.

Singaporean comedy project “La Luna” was the biggest winner this year, bagging both the Wouter Barendrecht Award and the White Light Post-Production Award (HAF Project). Directed by M Raihan Hal, the film is about a young woman challenging age-old traditions in a strict Muslim village.

Last year, “The Third Wife” won the non-Hong Kong Project Award at the same event.

The movie is about the struggle of a young girl who enters into an arranged marriage with a much older man in late 19th-century rural Việt Nam. The film also bagged the White Light Post-Production Award at the event last year, which helped the director get the backing of Studio White Light in Bangkok. — VNS