Presented by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, the 3rd edition of the Summer IFF is proud to open this year's Festival with Ocean Flame, directed by Liu Fendou, and produced by Simon Yam, who also played a part in the film with Liao Fan, Monica Mok, and Hai Yi Tian.
An HAF (Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum) project in 2006, Ocean Flame was the winner of the Hubert Bals Fund Award, and was recently shown in the Un Certain Regard of the 61st Cannes Film Festival in May 2008. Based on the novel by well known Chinese writer Wang Shuo, it was an intricate story of love, change and destruction between a criminal and an innocent young woman. It was enthusiastically received in Cannes and impressed many for its daring as a Chinese film.
The HKIFFS Artistic Director, Mr. Li Cheuk-to, believes that director Liu has shown great talents in his directorial debut Green Hat. "He is one of the most promising new directors in China, and it is our great pleasure to bring his latest work to Hong Kong soon after Cannes."
Local actor and first-time producer, Simon Yam, is thrilled to learn that Ocean Flame has been selected as the Opening Film of Summer IFF. "I admire Liu's black humor very much, and I have always wanted to work with him after watching Green Hat. Ocean Flame is about passion, emotional struggle and violence, and the newcomer Monica Mok stunned everyone with her performance which was an absolute delight."
The Summer IFF program consists of 'Summer Pops' and 'Summer Classics'. 'Summer Pops' offers the coolest hip movies from countries around the world, such as Japan, Korea, France, India, and USA, as well as the latest award-winning films from the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals, while 'Summer Classics' features indisputable classics by two masters of world cinema who passed away recently, the Swedish Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) and the Japanese Ichikawa Kon (1915-2008).
The Summer IFF full program lineup will be available on July 11th, counter booking and online booking will both commence on July 18th, please stay tuned for more exciting news from Summer IFF in mid-July!
Summer IFF Official Blog: http://hkiff.mysinablog.com/ (to be launched on July 14th)
For media enquiries, please contact HKIFFS PR Executive Maggie Ip
Tel: 21027365 Fax: 29703011 e-mail: maggie_ip@hkiff.org.hk
Ocean Flame Film Synopsis
Wang Yao was a shameless hoodlum and a blackmailer until one day he met a waitress named Lichuan. He thought Lichuan was like any other girls that could be controlled by him, but her stubbornness was way beyond his imagination.
As time goes by, they both lost their soul in the process. Wang Yao lost his freedom, while Lichuan lost her life.
Eight years later, Wang Yao stepped out from jail. He carried a gun and went to look for Lichuan's mother, wishing to fulfill his own will…
Biography of Liu Fendou
Started to work in film in 1995 and his major works as follow:
1995: screenwriter of "Spicy Love Soup" "Beautiful New World" "Shower"
2003: screenwriter and producer of "Spring Subway"
2004: director, screenwriter and producer of "Green Hat" which has won the best film and the best director awards in Tribeca Film Festival in 2004 |
