MUMBAI: The next Hong Kong Asia – Film Financing Forum (HAF), scheduled for 20 - 23 March 2007, is now accepting submissions. The deadline for sending in the project is 31 October 2006.
The upcoming edition of HAF will be organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFF), with assistance from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong, Kowloon & New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association Ltd. (MPIA).
The HAF is a key financing forum held concurrently with Hong Kong Filmart – the Asian film, television, and multi-media business platform. In 2006 the HAF awarded six prizes to filmmakers judged to have outstanding projects by the advisory board. Prizes totalled over HK$400,000 in cash and HK$200,000 in in-kind support, informs an official release.
The HAF aims to connect Asian filmmaking talent with upcoming theatrical film projects with financiers, producers, funding organisations, distributors and buyers in order to foster international co-production ventures. The HAF is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to present and discuss their projects individually with an array of potential partners in its three days, the release adds.
Filmmakers from across Asia who have participated in past HAF events include Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Tsai Ming-Liang, Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Nonzee Nimibutr, Jira Maligool, Jiang Wen, Lou Ye, Miike Takashi, Stanley Kwan, Ann Hui, Iwai Shunji, Peter Chan, and Ning Hao, who commented, “HAF is an excellent platform for film directors to offer their scripts for consideration to interested companies, allowing both parties to meet and communicate." The HAF was instrumental in the production of Ning’s Crazy Stone, and was considered an invaluable resource by the director. Ratanaruang’s Invisible Waves and Tsai’s The Wayward Cloud each went on to screen in competition at Berlin, and Maligool’s The Tin Mine was Thailand’s official entry for Academy Award consideration.
Completed HAF projects have gone on to screen at the world’s most prestigious international film festivals, among them Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, Locarno, Pusan, and Deauville. The HAF international partners include CineMart and Hubert Bals Fund of Rotterdam, Pusan Promotion Plan, Paris Cinéma, and the Rome Film Festival.
The HAF’s international advisory board includes a host of respected industry professionals. Among them are Ido Abram (The Netherlands), Terence Chang (USA), Roger Garcia (USA), Oh Jung Wan (South Korea), Jerome Paillard (France), Liz Wrenn (UK), Daniel Yun (Singapore), Aihara Hiromi (Japan), Mingmonkol Sonakul (Thailand), Tian Zhuang Zhuang (Chinese mainland), and many more.
