ifva

The 30th ifva Awards

Hong Kong & International Tertiary Students Group (Short Film) Finalist Showcase

Programme 1

Hong Kong and International Tertiary Students Group (Short Film) Finalist Showcase

16/10 (Fri) | 7:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre | 108' | HK$ 85/68*

Submerge

Yuen Wai Ho (City University of Hong Kong)

Hong Kong / 30'00'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Teenager ShingHo lives with his father and his young stepmother, Meiling. In their cramped home, water droplets and steam become silent conduits for suppressed desire. While ShingHo searches for traces of his late mother in Meiling, she feels suffocated by her husband's obsessive pursuit of an heir. A secret swimming lesson and a voyeuristic night culminate in a transgressive encounter in the kitchen. When a pregnancy test returns positive, the family’s fragile reality is fractured by a secret that offers no escape.

Wild Cards: The Disposable Man

Mitchell Hamal (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Hong Kong / 21'22'' / In English and Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

A dapper “dead-body” cleaner faces a crazy day that leads to darkly funny moments as he confronts life and death.

Yuen Long Knight

Liu Ka Hang (The University of Hong Kong)

Hong Kong / 19'58'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

"At this moment, Grace has no idea that her younger brother is the superhero of this community.” The story explores Yuen Long's drug problem and its resulting generational trauma from a unique perspective— a “superhero" is someone who’s willing to shoulder greater responsibility than others...

The Taste of Pork Belly

Sophie Shui (National Taiwan University of Arts)

Taiwan / 20'03'' / In Min Nan, Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

The preschooler A-Mao spends his days fooling around and exploring with his little sister and his buddy A-Bao. When they are hungry, there are sweet potatoes and snails to eat, and from time to time A-Mao can also eat some of the pork belly that his mother has gotten as a "gift." A-Mao's childhood is free and happy...

Lou

Maria Kassab (Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts)

Lebanon / 16'31'' / In Arabic with English subtitles

For Lou’s birthday, her father takes her on a carefully planned road trip, but the journey doesn’t go as planned.

Programme 2:

Hong Kong and International Tertiary Students Group (Short Film) Finalist Showcase

17/10 (Sat) | 3:00pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre | 106' | HK$ 85/68*

Cave

Tang Kwan Yeung (The Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts)

Hong Kong / 23'48'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Nam is not going home tonight as he had an argument with his mum so he enters a gay sauna for the first time then he meets Fei, who is coming here almost everyday and addicted to sex.

The Final Grace

Wang Yu Chen (City University of Hong Kong)

Hong Kong / 21'00'' / In Cantonese with English subtitles

At the century's edge, southern China was being reborn in the fires of reform. One midnight, in a coastal Guangdong restaurant, a wounded Hong Kong gangster met a young thief. This encounter became his final grace — a decent meal.

Another Side of the Wall

Zheng Yi Hao (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Hong Kong / 25'43'' / In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

After graduating from university, Jiawei’s relationship fell into crisis. He chose to stay in Hong Kong, while his girlfriend insisted on returning to her home country to prepare for the civil service exam. Their long-distance relationship gradually wore down their feelings and patience, yet neither was willing to compromise for the other, and so things dragged on...

Jumah

Liu Qing Lin, Ye Han Ling (Communication University of China)

China / 16'30'' / In Mandarin and Arabic with Simplified Chinese and English subtitles

Xingyue was born into a devout Muslim family in a central Chinese city, where both her mother and grandmother are practicing believers. Now nineteen, she increasingly feels how different her upbringing and identity are compared to her peers. According to Islamic teachings, altering one’s body is considered sinful. In an act of rebellion, Xingyue decides to get a tattoo...

Where the Rabbit Sleeps

Zhao Ying Yi (Beijing Film Academy)

China / 18'47'' / In Mandarin with Simplified Chinese and English subtitles

Ten-year-old Bao Lai learns that her mother is moving south with a new boyfriend—and taking her along. So she grabs her dying rabbit, picks up her friend Xiao He, and sets out to find her father—who disappeared from her life—and the shabby home she once shared with him...

Programme 3

Hong Kong and International Tertiary Students Group (Short Film) Finalist Showcase

17/10 (Sat) | 7:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre | 109' | HK$ 85/68*

THE BOWL

Abdulkadir Okan Kavak (Bilkent University)

Türkiye / 04'00'' / In Turkish with English subtitles

A homicide detective arrives at a crime scene to investigate the suspicious death of a man who reportedly committed suicide with a gun in his apartment. In order to uncover the truth behind what initially appears to be a straightforward suicide case, he begins to meticulously examine the eerie building and the crime scene...

(M)OTHER

Tsai Chi Min (Taipei National University of the Arts)

Taiwan / 27'54'' / In Min Nan, Mandarin with English subtitles

Today is A-Wei's last day, but it is her first day with Ching.

A Ceremony at Sea

Jin Pan (National Taiwan University of Arts)

Taiwan / 20'33'' / No Dialogue and Subtitles

After the relocation of residents in 1978, Xiji Islet in Penghu became an uninhabited island. Yet the King Boat ritual continues to reside deeply within collective memory, symbolizing both the pacification of the deceased and a lingering sense of farewell. In the ritual, the body is placed upon the King Boat and released into the sea, drifting with the tides as a metaphor for the soul’s return and the cyclical passage of life...

Minute by minute

Chan Yan (Hong Kong Design Institute)

Hong Kong / 25'59'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

While other cities stop using batteries, Harbor City promotes the "Battery Project," claiming drinking battery water boosts immunity and memory. Five years later, 80% of citizens have joined. 70 year old Lan and her gifted 17 year old grandson, Tse Chun, live together. To surprise him, Lan saves up to buy a one year plan. Soon after, Tse Chun collapses during drama practice...

Embers Across The Tides

Chen Yan Lin (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Hong Kong / 29'59'' / In Mandarin with Simplified Chinese and English subtitles

Xiaojing, a bright 16-year-old girl, longs to escape her small town and suffocating home, develops a fascination for Yixin—a stylish, intelligent tutor who returns from the big city after losing her job.

Programme 4

Hong Kong and International Tertiary Students Group (Short Film) Finalist Showcase

18/10 (Sun) | 7:30pm | Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre | 105' | HK$ 85/68*

12 Moments Before the Flag-Raising Ceremony

Qu Zhi Zheng (Beijing Film Academy)

China / 16'33'' / In Mandarin with English subtitles

In the capital city of Beijing, a middle school is about to hold a flag-raising ceremony. However, the flag raiser, Feng Xiao, is struggling with a growing urge to step down. Unfortunately, this is not a gentle winter for him...

A Distant Spring

Kan Po Yi (Chung-Ang University)

South Korea / 30'00'' / In Korean, Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

“Where are you from?” For Ji-won, who was born and raised in South Korea to ethnic Korean-Chinese parents, this question has never been easy to answer...

No place like home

Tsang Shen Chieh (National Taiwan University of Arts)

Taiwan / 11'48'' / In English, Mandarin, Tagalog with Chinese and English subtitles

After a grueling night shift, Johney, a Filipino migrant worker who works in Taiwan, returns to find strangers clearing out her dorm—installing heavy machinery and claiming to “inspect the factory.” As tensions erupt, Johney fights to protect her home—and a secret she’s kept hidden inside.

Operation: Old Soldier

Ngai Chi Lok (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Hong Kong / 16'14'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

The Land Recovery Department officer Dinner was ordered to carry out a land resumption mission on Carp Island. Teaming up with a talking rubber boat, root-people lurking underground, and a cow, they traversed mountains and rivers, employing various ingenious strategies to courageously breach the island's center and battle the legendary sniper homeowner who refuses to leave!

Tao

Yiu Kwok Hung Eric (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Hong Kong / 29'57'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Jinzi accidentally wins the lottery, and the sudden wealth goes to her head. She hides the prize money and indulges in her own pleasures, yet she still has to deal with her unemployed husband's daily routines and quarrels, which gradually lead to a growing distance in their relationship...