The 29th ifva Festival

The 29th ifva Awards

Open Category Finalist

A Missing Scene from Floral Princess: An Untold Suicide of the Last Ming Emperor

Kitty Yeung

Hong Kong / Col / 25'24"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

This experimental short film, blending Cantonese Opera and modern dance elements, re-enacts the episode from classic Cantonese Opera Floral Princess. The last Ming emperor Chongzhen and his faithful eunuch Wang Sing-yan are on a journey to the summit of Coal Hill to end their lives. Apart from inviting new perspectives towards their ambiguous queer overtones, it also explores the crossroads of life and death, authority and obedience, love and sacrifice, power and duty, that befall under the traditional patriarchy.

The Law in this World

Cheung Chin Hung

Hong Kong / Col / 16'50" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Kwong is retired and becomes a full-time volunteer to help the elderly living alone. One day he receives a notice that one of these elders has been found dead in the house for weeks. To retain the dignity of the deceased, he wants to claim his body as all unclaimed bodies will be buried anonymously at Sandy Ridge Cemetery without leaving a trace in the world.

From the Void of Time

Wong Lok Yiu

Hong Kong / Col / 9'52"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

A memorable record in one summer time, time passes and pull the past and present together. This is an audio-visual diary from an alternate time.

15 years

Chan Ki Yan

Hong Kong / Col / 8'10" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Time passes like flowing water. Not returning for three years, living abroad for fifteen years, what is the unit for alienation? The saxophone at the intersection 11 years ago, the Korean music on the street four years ago, the flight broadcasts after the epidemic, the voices of family members, the days and nights when Taipei and Hong Kong were at a standstill, some moments linger in my mind.

Lykke Til

Yu Shuk Pui

Hong Kong, Norway / Col / 29'54"/ In Cantonese, English and Norwegian with Chinese and English subtitles

Set in Norway, Lykke Til is a story about struggling in a foreign land. Ann, who has moved to Norway, is facing obstacles on multiple fronts: visa, employment, cultural differences, racism and an unexpected pregnancy, which puts her relationship with her girlfriend in jeopardy, another secret hovering over the already strained relationship with her mother. Instead of trying to simply stay afloat, the worst person in the world now has to make a decision and reclaim her life.

Overman

To Chun Him

Hong Kong / Col / 24'59"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

A young boy successfully transforms into Superman, but he can't find a way to turn back into human.

March Comes in Like a Lion

Cheung Man Hin

Hong Kong / Col / 16'45"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

An afternoon during the pandemic, on the rooftop of an industrial building, six people meet and is bonded over a football. Even though they don't seem to have achieved anything in the end, spending the day with each other means everything to them.

Lonely Together

Sham Kwan Yin

Hong Kong / Col / 23'50"/ In Cantonese with English subtitles

The billboards in the bustling city sell various exciting lifestyles, but Chi Keung is trapped in a dull and unhappy life. When he loses his passion, he meets Ka Yan a fellow traveller, and a brief spark teaches them both how to face a spiritual crisis.

Sushi

Wong Cheuk Man

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

High school student Faye leads a lonesome life, being bullied at school and with her family living abroad. She keeps a distance from others, including her classmate whom she secretly admires. Yearning for love and desperate to break away from her mundane life, Faye becomes a part-time girlfriend. Navigating the tumultuous journey of love, Faye eventually loses herself.

Before the Box Gets Emptied

Ho Sze Wai

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

For sixth grader Marco, the minutiae of life revolve around taking the light rail with his best friend Chris and their Beyblade battles. But just like the Beyblades that spin in unpredictable directions, Chris is embarking on a different path. Before Chris's departure, they continue to linger around the neighbourhood playing with friends, uncertain about the future and how to say farewell.

The 29th ifva Awards

Youth Category Finalist

The Gift

Amanda Lau

Hong Kong / Col / 9'40"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

Single mother and autistic daughter Yan live together with endless fights because they never agree with each other. It is only through Yan's painting that her mother realises her wish is just to grow up healthily, both of them.

My Best Friend

Jordan Lau

Hong Kong / Col / 3'18"/ In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

This short film talks about the two contrasting perspectives from a girl who has depression.

Underpalace

Chiu Ka Yin, Pak King Tai, Li Tsun Wai

Hong Kong / Col / 9'14"/ In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles

Youth is a sensational journey, after joy, what is left for us? Or we may never find the answer, or we may already have the answer in our hearts. Along the wet and sticky tunnel, step by step, we deconstruct the sorrow of the youth, sublimate pain and pressure, which pair up the codes between the unreal and the reality.

Lies are Everywhere

Tsoi Ching Fung

Hong Kong / Col / 5'00"/ In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles

A student is bullied by three school bullies, and there should be a fair judgement but everything is wrapped inside a "lie". Everyone's words are mixed with lies. The truth could also be a lie, or there is another game behind, at the mercy of others.

Blur

Mak Kwan Yu, Young Chun Hin Gabriel, Cheng Ho Man Abel, Ching Yat Long, Lam Chung Hei

Hong Kong / Col / 8'22"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

This is a story of a young creator. After lots of thinking, questioning himself, and interacting with others, everything finally integrates into his blood and flesh. The story of the colouring of the originally transparent "I" and how he finally feels like growing up.

The Dream

Ho Hei Yue

Hong Kong / Col / 6'38"/ In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles

The protagonist makes a dream, a nightmare, a dream he cannot escape, a destined encounter.

The Maze of Identity

Chan Pak Yin

Hong Kong / Col / 5'54"/ In Cantonese with no subtitles

Koo is worried after knowing his target of bullying Lei Chin Tung goes missing with no reason. Therefore he takes Ning along to looking for him after class. During the search, Koo realises his feeling for Lei Chin Tung is not as pure as it seems.

WHERE ARE ME GO

Chen Shun Yin

Hong Kong / Col /13'33" / In Cantonese with Chinese subtitles

Where should I go? I am about to enter the job market, and there are still so many questions. Should I go chase my dream, or just be a so-called normal person? I am not sure if I want to chase my dream, the road of dream chasing is a hard one, and with the pressure from my family, so what should I do?

Untitled

Chan Wing Hei Sytric

Hong Kong / Col / 25'00" / In English with English subtitles

"A glimpse into the lives of two youths, and the way the innocent childhood gives hope to those corrupted through time." That was supposed to be the story that I planned to tell. Until it isn't.

The Freedom of Student

Pang Shun Yin

Hong Kong / Col / 23'33" / In Cantonese with no subtitles

A boarding school penalises student for having their own interest in order to keep them focused on their studies. The protagonist falls in love with piano after his enrolment, and is uncertain whether he should go with the flow with his classmates or continue playing the piano. He is perplexed about his own future.

The 29th ifva Awards

Asian New Force Category Finalist

Rest in Peace

Kun Tsai

China / Col / 28'23" /In Putonghua and Minnan with English subtitles

Dummy, an honest paper-making craftsman, learns that he would soon die, and hopes to be buried according to traditional customs. However, due to the local implementation of funeral reforms, Dummy's wish comes to nothing. So, his good buddy Buggy who has a way of doing things help him to find a surrogate body for cremation.

Can I Hug You?

Elahe Esmaili

Iran / Col / 30'00"/ In Persian with English subtitles

Hossein and Elahe are filmmakers from Qom, an Iranian city known for having the highest rate of gender segregation, with many restrictions on human rights, particularly on women's rights to ensure "safety of the society". Hossein has suffered from same-sex sexual abuse during his childhood, which have brought great impact to his life. Toxic masculinity and the associated stereotypes made him not able to talk about it. With the support from his wife, Elahe, he can finally confront his trauma.

Mirage

Atefeh Salehi

Iran / Col / 16'48"/ In Persian with English subtitles

A mysterious girl rides a truck on the road. After spending some time with the driver, the man reminds her of her father and her miserable past. She spends the night with the driver, and before sunrise, while the driver is still asleep, the girl kills him with a kick in the head and leaves.

Unofficial History of Time

Teng Kun Hou

Macao, Taiwan / Col / 25'00" In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

The 31-year-old Tong and her partner return to the place where they met in college, passing through the Wufu Road where she was born and grew up, recalling the hidden history in her life.

Reclaim My Summer

Chen Hao Wei

Taiwan / Col / 29'00"/ In Mandarin and Minnan with English subtitles

At the age of 17, instead of enjoying her life, Xuan lives in a small bungalow built inside the yard with her mother and younger sister, surrounded by, in her opinion, all kinds of junk. Apart from having to help out in the recycling yard, she is also tasked with taking care of her indulged sister. One day, her crush from school asks her out on a ride. Tasked with collecting recyclables from the neighbourhood, Xuan decides to sneak away from her mother and finally experience a moment with friends as a normal teenager

Hearing from the Dolphin

Zhang Hong Jie

Taiwan / Col / 29'00" / In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles

Unpretentious, direct and sincere, this work conveys the threat to the lives of dolphins caused by the construction of wind turbines. The determined protagonist advocates for the protection of dolphins and joins hands with workers to save them one by one. He knows that it is extremely difficult to reverse the situation, but he still tries his best, which is touching. (Adam Wong)

Destruction

Igor Smola

Azerbaijan / Col / 22'29/ In Azerbaijani with English subtitles

A wounded boy bursts into an artist's studio, gushing blood on the floor. She tries to help him to no avail. A policeman arrives at the crime scene who does not believe her story. He asks strange questions, and reality slowly distorts, turning into a cat's dream.

Mirage

Yash Sawant

India / Col / 11'48"/ In Hindi with English subtitles

A young man falls asleep on a train as it drifts through an unnamed island in rural Goa.

Where Do Ants Sleep at Night

Dean Wei

China / Col / 20'00" / No dialogue and subtitles

A man and a woman suffer from the same terrible disease: they do not fit in. Their world, an office space is disrupted when a pigeon flies in through the window and wreaks havoc. A short film combining elements of dance theatre and the language of cinema.

When the Wind Rises

Chen Hung

Taiwan / Col / 18'22"/ In Mandarin with English subtitles

The story is set in a small fish village which became uneasy due to a plant expansion project from the oil refinery nearby. As the plot progresses, the intense fight between Huang the protester, the villagers, and the refinery soon unfold.

The 29th ifva Awards

Animation Category Finalist

O/S

Max Hattler

Hong Kong / Col / 5'00" / No dialogue and subtitles

Taking inspiration from 20th-century avant-garde experiments in graphical sound generation, the entire image in O/S functions as an optical soundtrack. Abstract motion becomes sound. What you hear is what you see.

GARISANI

Jin Woo

Korea / Col / 7'42" / No dialogue and subtitles

"Garisani" means the "perception to judge things". The new-born baby god goes around the underworld and starts a journey to escape from his destiny.

80dB

Lam Tsz Ching

Hong Kong / Col / 5'21"/ In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

The film follows the story of two friends, one of them has normal hearing, while the other is hard of hearing. The focus is on their interactions and conversations, and the ways in which their different hearing abilities impact their communication and social experiences.

You Build a Home in my Mind

Lee Yuk Ki Florence

Hong Kong / Col / 7'48" / No dialogue and subtitles

Translating and encapsulating the filmmaker's personal childhood memories as well as past lived experiences, this animated short film comprises playground rides, everyday scenery of the cityscape, and unique objects recalled from memories―weaving together a melody that lures the viewers to roam and wander. As a boat navigates between reality and imagination, resembling a journey of constant loss and persistent search, the scenes become slightly different each time they reappear, alluding to the repetitiveness and uncertainty of life.

A Night with Moosina

Tsai Shiu Cheng

Taiwan / Col / 25'59"/ In Minnan with English subtitles

On a full moon night, a 10-year-old girl in a remote village is lured by Moosina into a cave in the mountains, where she discovers the secret about why the mountain demon always plays dirty tricks on children.

Monsoon Blue

Jay Wong Hiu Kit, Ellis Chan Ka Yin

Hong Kong / Col / 5'05" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

When looking for the answer to the question "why do I exist", a storm is conjured up. There are times of darkness, changes, pain and suffocation, when heavy rain suddenly floods the fragile mind. The captive goldfish looks for answers and strives to return to its place of origin. However, it remains struggling in the bag, just like an oppressed individual who has nowhere to turn.

On a Dark and Stormy Night

Thomas Wei

Hong Kong / Col / 5'05" / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles

A passenger encounters a talkative taxi driver in heavy rain. During their short journey, the driver divulges all the twists and turns of his life over the past 30 years. His narrative touches on various topics from the belief that rain can cure pneumonia, to his side business of Chinese medicine, curry business, bankruptcy, divorce, and new love. His life story contains such bizarre details that makes it hard to tell if it is real.

The Rubbings of Trajectories

Chung Cheng Hsu

Taiwan / Col / 3'58" / In Mandarin with English subtitles

An intimate documentation about space and memory. Drawing inspiration from traveling in different cities around the globe, the work invites viewers to slip into a person's consciousness and experience the relationship between one's inner and outer worlds. While the surroundings constantly shift, their mind also goes through a series of transformations.

Our Uniform

Yegane Moghaddam

Iran / Col / 6'30" / In Persian with English subtitles

An Iranian girl unfolds her school memories through the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform. She admits that she's nothing but a "female" and explores the roots of this idea in her school years.

Temporarily Removed

Dotan Goldwaser, Yoav Brill

Israel / Col / 14'00" / No dialogue and subtitles

Deep inside a municipal art museum, a single guard is the sole queen of a small exhibition. When being forced to leave the room, her exile becomes a journey in search of a new home.

The 29th ifva Awards

Media Art Category Finalist

Almost There

Au Kin Wai

Hong Kong

The artwork reflects determined resistance in a rapidly changing world, inspired by the changes in Hong Kong. It captures the perseverance and importance of resilience in shaping our identities and the world. Through failures and exploration, it represents a "better failure". It serves as a visual representation of struggles and attempts to resist, highlighting the lasting impact of resilience.

Dancing without Touching

Choo Jing Sarah

Singapore

Taking the form of a multimedia installation, "dancing without touching" presents itself as an alternative discourse of movement and dance in the context of "entertainment" worlds (often referred to as amusement parks) in early Singapore. Reflecting on themes of activation and authorship, subjects are given freehand to interpret, respond and perform within the site.

I work, therefore I am

Chiu Sze Man

Hong Kong, United Kingdom

I work, therefore I am is an interactive installation that comments on the existence of meaningless jobs in society. It features a factory line creating and erasing forms, amplified by layers of monitoring hierarchical systems that emphasise its futility. Visitors can engage by clocking in, symbolically becoming a part of the system, encouraging contemplation on the nature of work today.

Kazokutchi

So Kanno, Akihiro Kato, Takemi Watanuki

Japan

Kazokutchi is a work that consists of robots installed on a pedestal inside real exhibition spaces, and families of Kazokutchi, digital artificial lives that inhabit those houses. The data of each member of a Kazokutchi family are registered as NFTs. The robots have a breeding season, mating and giving birth to new digital life when they find another family member.

Media of Langue

Goki Muramoto

Japan

Media of Langue is a dictionary/sculpture that depicts the map of meaning onto the boundary between languages. On the Internet, words of multiple languages float as dots. There two forces are given: repulsion between words in the same language, and attraction between translated words in different languages. These two forces immediately constitute a certain space, and the visitors can explore there.

My Inner Ear Quartet

Koji Yamamura (Director) , Yoko Ogawa (Original Author)

Japan

What lives in a lonely boy's ear? And why a boy's ear? In the boy's notebook, he recorded the lonely voices of the objects he collected. The boy who grew up as a man set out on a journey to collect lonely voices again. What would he find there eventually?

NEVER HAVE I EVER

Natalie Isdoingokay

Hong Kong

That one lie changed the course of my entire life.

Rehab

Tung Wing Hong

Hong Kong

Rehab is a kinetic sculpture combining ceiling panel and dining table, with ceiling concrete fallen from the artist's home resting on top of it. These extra weights force the work to adapt and relearn walking. Every single step reflects the emotions for homeland.

syncrowd Self-control Removal System

Chang Liu Luna, Cheuk Sze Wing Chloe

Hong Kong

This AR installation metaphorically represents the causes and manifestations of school bullying in East Asia and its influence on the personality of the victims. The interactive mechanism is a simulation of typical routes for East Asians to gain admission to prestigious universities, which aims to make players feel the choicelessness, helplessness, and anxiety of economically disadvantaged parents in East Asia.

syncrowd

nor

Japan

A kinetic sound installation that utilises a natural phenomenon called "synchronisation". Many pendulums interfere physically to be self-synchronisd as being controlled. They behave like a crowd, changing the environment in complex ways from disorder to order. The sounds that accompany the pendulum's motion form organic-like overlaps, creating a beauty that can be compared to the structure of minimal music.