榴莲飘飘 | Durian Durian

Durian Durian is an extension of the life of Fan, the illegal immigrant girl in Little Cheung. Fan strikes up a friendship with fellow immigrant Yan, the hardest working prostitute in town who must endure the harsh conditions of her job on one side of the border (HK) while she tries to turn her profits into a success on the other side of the border (China). One day, the pimp accompanying her gets his head smashed from behind in a random act of violence. The weapon is a strange, spiky fruit known as the “durian”. The idealistic and naive views of Hong Kong that the girls share are destroyed by differences in culture, isolated existences, and limited choices.

Directed by Fruit Chan | Starring : Hailu Qin, Wai-Fan Mak, Suet-man Mak, Xiao Ming Biao, Wai Yiu Yung | Presented at Venice Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, London Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Belgrade Film Festival, Cinemanila Film Festival

香港制造 | Made in Hong Kong

Autumn Moon is one step short of a triad, and an ocean removed from respectability. A go-nowhere, no-nothing nobody, Moon is the boss of his own gang, which has one member, a retarded fellow named Sylvester, and passes his time playing basketball and collecting debts for local triad Wing. Marginalized by society and perhaps his own poor self-image, Moon nonetheless attempts to make his mark on the world, finding direction in his love for Ping, a young girl suffering from renal failure, and a chance connection to Susan, a school girl who committed suicide. Moon’s quest for personal significance is full of startling violence, lyrical emotion and surprising irony, and director Fruit Chan’s camera is right there, infusing this street level Hong Kong tale with a vibrant and affecting immediacy. Made in Hong Kong succeeds on multiple levels – as a tale of disaffected youth, as a rude answer to the gangster-glorifying Young and Dangerous films, and as an affecting portrait of what it means to be born, bred, and buried in Hong Kong.

Directed by Fruit Chan | Starring : Sam Lee, Neiky Yim Hui-Chi, Wenders Li, Carol Lam Kit-Fong, Amy Tam Ka-Chuen | Presented at Locarno Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival, Gijón Film Festival, Nantes Film Festival, Hong Kong Film Festival