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Transitions from small-screen video-makers to big-screen filmmakers have been a pattern since the dawn of MTV, as though it is natural. It is inevitable that online video-makers, like Trevor Choi and his 16by9 production, would choose the same path. Big in Hong Kong, 16by9 launched their crowdfunding campaign for the Frank project in 2022 and have since faced challenges such as casting changes and several creative and financial overhauls. The end result is nothing short of remarkable. But they seem to carry over some elements of their online content to their feature, which may sometimes be questionable.

Smashing Frank by Trevor Choi is screening at New York Asian Film Festival

Set in a fictional Hong Kong where religion gets entangled with power, a gang of youth thieves who leave behind graffiti of the word “Frank” starts attacking money lenders and jewelry stores. Frank threatens the powerful through their online videos, and their audience cheers for them.

“The Killer” demonstrates John Woo’s ability to craft a compelling story with the same intricacy as his elaborate gun fu. The production was infamously plagued by challenges due to clashing over creative differences with producer Tsui Hark, a working relationship that was already tumultuous from previous troubles with “A Better Tomorrow II.” This culminated with the director being able to retain his artistic vision but needing additional financial backing from the financing companies of lead actors Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee. Although initially not a success upon its release in Hong Kong, the film later received international acclaim and is now regarded as a classic. The movie was remade in 2024 as an English-language feature, also directed by Woo, although it received less favorable reviews than the original.

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Operating under the Triads, Ah Jong is a revered assassin who maintains unwavering...

Directors remaking their own movies isn’t a common practice, but it does happen every now and then. The reason behind doing so usually boils down to the Fomo over technological advancements and equipment that weren’t available during the making of the original. In addition to that, some directors want to include plot elements and themes that were absent in the original for some reason or another. And sometimes it can be a result of a studio, which owns the rights to the original, deciding to greenlight a remake, thereby leaving the director with the option of either helming the film or watching someone else do it. Some of the most popular examples of this phenomenon are Michael Mann’s L.A. Takedown and Heat, Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sam Raimi’s requel (it’s a remake and sequel) The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II,...

You know, there was something very peculiar about the directors who were auteurs. They didn’t just direct a movie. Instead, they wrote poetry on screen. And what good is a poet if they don’t romanticize those lonely eyes? For the most part, I believed, cinema is nothing but capturing those eyes at their most vulnerable moment. And here you can think of any great actor on screen, and all you will remember is their expressive eyes. And while I rewatched John Woo’s 1989 film, The Killer, I only looked into Chow Yun-Fat’s eyes because that’s where I found the real meaning of his loneliness.

The Killer begins with our protagonist, Ah Jong, sitting in an empty church ironically called the “Church of Salvation.” At the beginning of the film, Ah Jong was lonely, but he wasn’t burdened by that loneliness. But that was about to change soon enough.

Projects include new work from Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Barbara Wong Chun-chun.

The 17th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum has unveiled the 23 projects in search of financing, co-production partners and sales to the local and international industry in Hong Kong from March 18-20.

They include new projects from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi whose Asako I & II screened in main competition at Cannes last year, a $10m romantic drama from Hong Kong’s Barbara Wong Chun-chun called The Wedding Celebrant, and three projects from Filippino filmmakers who have all participated previouslyl in Haf. (See full list below.)

“The number of first-time directors,...