before it melts

The once-glamourous Club EJ suddenly experiences a hostile takeover. Much like the nightclub industry, the glory days are over for the club’s manager, despite having stood tall in East Tsim Sha Tsui for decades. To make matters worse, the new CEO is none other than his cutthroat ex-wife.

In 1970s Hong Kong, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was formed to bring down the corruption syndicate led by British government officials. One of its top investigators is Senior Investigator Lau Kai-Yuen, who brought down countless corrupted officials. Just as he thought stability and prosperity are within reach, a new era of greed and riches takes him into a new battlefield of corruption.

Nick Cheuk’s student short, featured in the 35th HKIFF

After her father died, a Hong Kong girl discovers she has two hitherto unknown sisters, one in Taiwan and one in China. To settle her father's debt, she must reunite with them to run the family's hot pot restaurant.

Adapted from a sensational real-life case in 2013, the intricate story begins when a young man partners with his friend to murder and dismember his parents. Pleading not guilty, the defense attorneys soon turn on each other, as the defendants play the devil and idiot game. Meanwhile, heated debates emerge inside the jury room, where nine jurors grapple with the truth.

Veronica, a superstar canton-pop female singer, is facing her career downturn. She got insomnia as she is always anxious about her career will be replaced by someone from the north. A mysterious female figure named Vanda emerged, who is trying her best to be the substitution of Veronica.

High school student Faye leads a lonesome life, being bullied at school and her family living abroad. She keeps a distance from people, including her classmate Yiu whom she secretly admires. Yearning for love and desperate to break away from her mundane life, Faye becomes a part-time girlfriend named “Sushi”. A delicate dish on the sushi conveyor belt, Faye is coveted and manipulated by the assortment of men who seek her services. Her life is further complicated when Yiu suddenly confesses his affection for her on the phone. Navigating the tumultuous journey of love, will Faye finally be able to lift herself up, take the lead and find her way?

High school teacher Cheng looks back to his repressed childhood memories, as he finds an anonymous suicide note in the classroom. He strives hard to prevent another tragedy from happening, meanwhile facing a series of family problems, his wife is divorcing him, and his father is dying.

The understanding of time is dependable to the person’s perception. For elders, the seemingly overdued life experiences were their golden ages. This is a life story of an individual in highspeed. Beginning as an infant, the elder was like any of us, who was young and was beaten by his mom, experienced his first love, out of love, holding someone’s hand for the first time, feeling the warmth while holding his first born… And the one who lives with him all along might be his "pair".

The long-awaited director’s cut, with 30 minutes of unrevealed and breathtaking highlights! The year is 2012. The once-glamourous Club EJ suddenly experiences a hostile takeover. Much like the nightclub industry, the glory days are over for the club’s manager, Foon (Dayo Wong), despite having stood tall in East Tsim Sha Tsui for decades. To make things worse for Foon, the club’s new CEO is none other than his cutthroat ex-wife, Madame V (Sammi Cheng)! Determined to change things up, she leaves Foon and his hostesses with no choice but to transform and modernize in order to breathe new life into their business. Little do they know, a powerful conglomerate has been pulling the strings all along to shut down Club EJ for good. To save their neon empire, Foon and V must join forces and make an epic last stand with the hostesses against what seems to be inevitable doom.

Angie and Pat are a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat's unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over thirty years.

In the early spring of 2021, a man and a woman flew to Hong Kong at the same time, and while waiting to enter the mainland, they stayed in the same hotel, separated by a wall. During the short intersection of their lives, the two confided in each other about the pressure they were burdened with and found a spiritual harbor in Hong Kong, where tenacious vitality was blooming. And before the answer is revealed, the choice stops abruptly.

While trying to keep his struggling business afloat, a chef goes on a dating app in search of Zelda, his crush from his chatroom days as a teenager. For each Zelda he meets, he makes a tailor-made meal to fit their story. Putting a spotlight on the city’s struggling restaurant sector, indie filmmaker Amos WHY and his co-director Frankie Chung’s unconventional and bittersweet road movie follows a rootless man who turns to his memories to avoid confronting his unknown future. Is it better to drift with uncertainty, or to stay in your comfort zone whilst tethered to a sinking ship?

An exorcist heir and an immortal from the Blood Tribe cross paths during an investigation, uncovering past-life entanglements while uniting to stop a powerful villain’s plan to take over the world.

Kwan believes that she is unique. Enclosed in solitude within her own literary world and deprived of affections from her family, she longs for love in whatever form it takes - no matter how distorted. She considers the detention class with Mr Cheung a shelter from the world, until it is shattered together with all her hopes. She finally comes to the realisation that it is the world that goes against her. There is no hiding place for her no matter how hard she struggles……

Carrying her late wife’s final wish, 70-year-old Lucy returns to Hong Kong and meets 20-year-old Ellen, finding unexpected solace as they navigate grief, longing, and a fleeting connection.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an owner of a cleaning company meets a young mother and her daughter. Would their encounter save each other during the recession of Hong Kong's economy?

A washed-up action choreographer, struggling to find his way in a changing industry, risks everything to stage an epic comeback, and attempts to repair the relationship with his estranged daughter before it's too late.

One day Pak, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets Hoi, a retired single father, in a park. Although both are secretly gay, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together.

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. The director who also writes the script and plays the main role expresses through the short her own experience as a Chinese diaspora and creative talent living in Europe.

On, a primary school boy, seeks guidance from a Chinese chess scammer, who sets up endgames in the park. The two lonely souls find solace in their mentorship as they lie their ways out.

A confrontation between two Hong Kong immigrants – one a cab driver from Mainland China, the other a lawyer and refugee from Pakistan – spells disaster for their families, especially the lawyer's young son.

For his project under the lauded First Feature Film Initiative programme, director Ka Sing-fung tells the heartrending journey of a woman whose life is forever changed by the children she takes in as a temporary foster carer. In a career-best performance, Sammi Cheng stars as Mei, a woman trying to get over the death of her young son through the children she welcomes into her home. Each ward offers Mei a different challenge and a newfound appreciation for the difficulties of motherhood, but when her dedication to the job causes her marriage to turn sour, Mei is forced to make a choice.

After his success as a martial arts film star, WONG Joi made a fatal decision to write and direct his debut feature Golden Sword Woman, with his beloved wife Mei-fung starring as the eponymous heroine. Years later, a senile, demented WONG, who keeps blabbering about his ‘groundbreaking’ debut, is being taken care of by his grudging son Ho. The film parodies the visual style of the Shaw Brothers martial arts films to tell the story of a contemporary father-and-son conflict and reconciliation. Golden Sword Woman travels in time and between both sides of the silver screen, between the romantic world of swordsmen and the unpromising, secular family life.

Mohammad is a young asylum seeker from Pakistan. To make a living, he works illegally as a night delivery worker. He strives for a better life in a city with no identity and future in store for him. Despite his limited income, Mohammad helps out the single mother and her young son from Africa. He spends his days with his compatriots looking for jobs and waiting for their application results, hoping indefinitely for a miracle. Marginalized and ostracized, they survive in cracks and crevices of the city, trembling with rage and despair, waiting for dawn to come.

In hopes to wake their father up, the sisters, Abb and May, set off on a journey in search of their father's past love. With such a drastic difference in personality, the sisters each take matters into their own hands to find her.

Brilliantly played by LAW Ka-ying, the revered Skyblade hails from a prestigious family of Cantonese opera singers. Pressured into performing opposite the sponsor’s child at the celebrated Red Banquet in return for financial support, the reluctant Skyblade is further taken aback when he realises that Jade is a girl slated to play a male lead role in a predominantly masculine cast. However, as Jade’s talent becomes apparent to Skyblade, a bond is formed between the two during rehearsals, and a mutual understanding that both have been sacrificing their dreams and passions out of duty towards the family. When Jade reveals a shocking resolution to take control of her life, it is up to Skyblade to decide their fate on stage.

In 1980s Hong Kong, troubled youth Chan Lok-kwun, a mainland refugee, struggles to survive in the Kowloon Walled City by joining underground fights. Betrayed by crime boss Mr. Big while trying to buy a fake ID, he steals drugs from him and seeks refuge in the Walled City, where he encounters Cyclone, a compassionate yet authoritative crime lord.

The Yau Tsim Mong area, the core commercial area of Hong Kong, has recently experienced a series of robberies. Many jewelry stores in the area have been ransacked by gangsters. Police unit is given the mission to take the gangsters into a custody, but the operation is not so easy.

A fortune teller fails to help a prostitute who is facing a deadly calamity. When he meets a young boss of a tea restaurant, he predicts that his bloodthirsty tendencies will lead him to a prison sentence for murder.

Hong Kong’s historic first radiation disaster blockbuster! After a fire accident triggers a radiation leakage, the entire city suddenly finds its survival hanging by a thread. In order to tackle the impending catastrophe, expert Simon Fan joins the emergency crisis response team led by Acting Chief Executive Cecilia to tackle this catastrophic disaster. With the lives of 7 million people on the line, the fire brigade is tasked with stopping the spread at all costs by entering the radiation zone. Facing this unprecedented calamity, will Hong Kong wake up to an overnight annihilation?

A renowned charity foundation is holding its annual charity party. It’s a glamourous meeting of the foundation’s friends, associates and the city’s most elite socialites. Just as foundation chairman Ko Shing Man is about to give his annual speech to the attendees, Yeung To – the foundation’s chief financial officer - suddenly hangs to his death on the stage. As suspicions surround Yeung’s death, rumors of a missing $200 million charitable donation begin to run rampant, attracting the attention of the masses. The mystery brings barrister Ma Ying Fung and police officer Or Ting Bong together as they form a temporary partnership to uncover the truth behind the foundation’s dealings. Can they expose all the dark truths behind the foundation’s wrongdoings and restore justice?

Heung Wing has been sensitive to paranormal activity and keeps seeing ghosts since he was a kid. One day, Heung Wing receives news that his mother is in coma after committing suicide, which forces him to return to the old home. Everything seems strange and weird.

A night delivery man meets a woman who works in a publishing house. He helps her deliver books to a warehouse during rainy days, and in each encounter an endearing bond forms between them.