Making Waves in Paris (MWP)
Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema 2025
Making Waves @ Paris 2025
Making Waves
“Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema in Paris (MWP)” is presented by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, in collaboration with Alliance Cinéaste Chine-Europe, sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels.
With the success of the 2022 edition of Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema touring programme that celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, HKIFFS has continued to take the Making Waves tour to different territories. The touring programme has already travelled to 28 international cities, showcasing Hong Kong films that transform film aesthetics and herald unprecedented awareness of socio-political issues.
Opening Film · French Premiere · Q&A
Four Trails (2025)
In 2012, Andre Blumberg set out to achieve the impossible: to run all four of Hong Kong’s iconic ultra-distance trails in just four days. Nearly 300 km and over 14,500 meters of elevation later, the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge was born — one of the toughest ultra-marathons in the world.
With the 2021 edition as its backdrop, Four Trails traces the evolution of this unique challenge: under 60 hours to be a “Finisher,” under 72 hours to be a “Survivor,” entirely unsupported, and with ever-changing rules. A journey into four legendary trails, filled with laughter and tears, carried by the astonishing stories of those who dare to attempt the impossible.
🎞️ Film Information
Genre: Documentary · Sport
Languages: English · Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese · French
Duration: 101 minutes
Rating: Not suitable for children
🎥 Screening Information
📅 Friday, October 3, 7:40 pm – 10:15 pm (incl. Opening Ceremony + Q&A)
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (near the Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Ticket price: €5
✨ Before the screening: Hong Kong filmmakers will attend the Opening Ceremony
🎤 After the screening: Q&A with director Robin Lee
Robin LEE
Robin Lee is an award winning director, cinematographer and DoP born and raised in Hong Kong. Recently taking home ‘Best New Director’ at the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards, Robin has worked in the film and adventure sport industry for over 10 years, contributing to award winning ski films and collaborating on a multitude of projects with major industry leaders
After many years of short films and commercial work, Four Trails is Robin’s first feature length film.
French Premiere · Q&A
Papa（2024）
Café owner Nin’s (Sean Lau) mundane but contented life is shattered forever when his fifteen-year-old son Ming (Dylan So) slashes his mother Yin (Jo Koo) and younger sister Grace (Lainey Hung) to death one evening. Diagnosed with acute schizophrenia, Ming is remanded to a psychiatric prison indefinitely until full recovery. Aside from visiting his son twice a month, Nin continues to lead a pedestrian existence, while memories of his wife, daughter, and son keep flooding into his head. As time passes, Nin has given up on knowing the reason behind the misfortune. He only wishes that one fine day, Ming, his sole remaining family but also the murderer of his family, will come home again.
🎞️ Film Information
Starring: Sean Lau, Jo Koo, Dylan So
Genre: Drama
Languages: Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese · English · French
Duration: 129 minutes
Rating: Not suitable for young persons
🎥 Screening Information
📅 Saturday, October 4, 3:00 pm – 5:40 pm (incl. 30-min Q&A)
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (near the Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Ticket price: €5
✨ Followed by a Q&A with Dylan So (Starring)
Philip YUNG
Philip YUNG is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Yung has been active in film and television production since 1998. His debut feature film, Glamourous Youth (2009), earned him a nomination for Best New Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Port of Call received widespread acclaim in 2015, winning Best Screenplay at the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards and Best Film at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. Yung's most recent projects include Where the Wind Blows (2023) and the upcoming film Penny Pinchers. He has also produced titles such as The Sparring Partner (2022) and Cycle Game.
French Premiere · Q&A
Cesium Fallout (2024)
“Courage is fire.” – Benjamin Disraeli
Since time immemorial, fire – and the fight against its ravages – has helped forge the bravest and most hardened of men. Set in the turn of the 21st century, Cesium Fallout reveals such a gruelling test, as a team of firefighters led by Kit Li (Bai Yu) and Simon Fan (Andy Lau) put everything they own on the line to extinguish an inferno sweeping across one of Hong Kong’s biggest recycling yard. While dwarfed by the vast field of blazing debris in front of them, Kit’s never-say-die attitude bears testament to the courage of Hong Kong’s perennially valiant firefighters, but also symbolic of the self-sacrifice they – and the people of Hong Kong – are willing to make to protect our home.
🎞️ Film Information
Screenplay: Mak Tin Shu, Shum Kwan Sin, Wong Wing Yiu, Frances To, Oscar Fung
Starring: Andy Lau, Bai Yu, Karen Mok
Genre: Drama · Action · Disaster
Languages: Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese · English · French
Duration: 136 minutes
Rating: Suitable for All Ages
🎥 Screening Information
📅 Saturday, October 4, 7:00 pm – 9:46 pm (incl. 30-min Q&A)
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (near the Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Ticket price: €5
✨ Followed by a Q&A with Leung Chung-hang (Starring)
Anthony PUN
Veteran cinematographer Anthony PUN is famous for his ingenious touch and visual flair, with which he created series of blockbuster hits including Heroic Duo (2003), New Police Story (2004), Leaving Me, Loving You (2004), Divergence (2005, winner of Best Cinematography at the Golden Horse Awards), Rob-B-Hood (2006), Invisible Target (2007), Connected (2008), Overheard series, Shaolin (2011), The White Storm (2013) and Monster Hunt series. Widely recognised for his outstanding cinematographic works, he has received five nominations for the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA) Best Cinematography with works like Empire of Silver (2009) and Overheard 2 (2011), and twice taking home the award for The Silent War (2012) and The Goldfinger (2023).
Pun began his directorial journey with Alan Mak, co-directing Extraordinary Mission (2017). His solo debut One More Chance (2023) featured international icon Chow Yun-fat.
French Premiere
My First of May (2025)
My First of May follows Tang Suk Yin (Aaron Kwok) and his daughter Tang Chi (Natalie Hsu), whose lives are shaken when Chi is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Determined to cherish every moment, Suk Yin and his wife, Elaine Yeung (Gigi Leung) dedicate themselves to caring for her.
As Chi miraculously survives past the age of two, the couple sacrifices their dreams—Suk Yin abandons his squash career, while Elaine, overwhelmed by pressure, abandons the family. Suk Yin becomes a recluse, leaving Chi in the care of her grandmother, Suen Yau Mui (Nina Paw).
When Chi’s grandmother’s health declines, Suk Yin returns home. Through small gestures and persistent love, the father and daughter reconnect, rediscovering family bonds and the preciousness of fleeting happiness.
🎞️ Film Information
Screenplay: James Hung, Li Cheuk Fung
Starring: Aaron Kwok, Natalie Hsu, Nina Paw, Gigi Leung, Patrick Tam
Genre: Drama
Languages: Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese · French
Duration: 91 minutes
Rating: Suitable for All Ages
🎥 Screening Information
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (near the Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Ticket price: €5
James HUNG
Having studied film in California, James worked on the post-production of Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and Ugly Betty. After returning to Hong Kong in 2008, he joined TVB, where he produced and assisted in directing several drama series. His original screenplay The Seventh Lie was supported by the Hong Kong Film Development Fund and went on to win Best Film at the Barcelona International Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival.
He produced, wrote, and directed ViuTV’s police drama Plan B, which earned strong ratings and award nominations. In 2022, James directed Detrimental, Hong Kong’s first sci-fi monster film made with full 3D Motion Capture technology.
French Premiere · Q&A
Last Song For You (2024)
That summer, young Ha Man Huen (Natalie Hsu) and young So Sing Wah (Ian Chan) crossed paths through a shared love of music, wondering just how far this love could take them.
Years later, musician So (Ekin Cheng) unexpectedly encounters his first love Ha (Cecilia Choi), in a hospital during troughs of their lives. Struck by how much he has changed, ailing Ha decides to send him to a journey as a parting gift, hoping this will reignite his life.
🎞️ Film Information
Starring: Ekin Cheng, Ian Chan, Natalie Hsu, Cecilia Choi
Genre: Drama · Romance · Fantasy
Languages: Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese · English · French
Duration: 106 minutes
Rating: Suitable for All Ages
🎥 Screening Information
📅 Sunday, October 5, 4:30 pm – 6:50 pm (incl. 30-min Q&A)
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (near the Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Ticket price: €5
✨ Followed by a Q&A with Jill Leung (Director)
Jill Leung
Jill Leung is a Hong Kong screenwriter and emerging filmmaker. He has worked as a screenwriter on renowned franchise sequels such as Soi Cheang’s SPL II: A Time for Consequences (aka Kill Zone 2, 2015) and Ip Man 3 (2015), and has worked for several years alongside Wilson Yip. Last Song for You is his first feature as a director.
Closing Film · Hong Kong Cinema Classic
Shanghai Blues (1984, 2024 4K Restoration)
One fateful night in 1937, amidst the bombings of Shanghai, Tung (Kenny Bee), a young soldier, and Shu (Sylvia Chang) find solace under the bridge. In the semi-darkness, though unable to see each other clearly, the young couple experience an immediate attraction towards each other and plan to meet again when the war is over, under the same bridge.
Ten years have passed. Tung awaits his breakthrough as a promising songwriter, while Shu fends for herself as a showgirl in a nightclub. Enter Stool (Sally Yeh), a young girl in search of her relatives. Her efforts prove fruitless until she crosses paths with Shu, who takes Stool into her home. Soon, they form a close, sisterly relationship.
By a twist of fate, Tung moves into the same building as the two women. Stool finds herself falling for Tung. Meanwhile, Shu and Tung are drawn to each other, unaware that they have met under that bridge many years before.
🎞️ Film Information
Screenplay: John Chan, To Kwok Wai
Starring: Sylvia Chang, Kenny Bee, Sally Yeh
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Languages: Mandarin · Shanghainese · Cantonese
Subtitles: French
Duration: 103 minutes
Rating: Suitable for All Ages
🎥 Screening Information
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (near the Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Ticket price: €5
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in Hong Kong cinema, known for his innovative style and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking. He emerged as a key figure during the 1980s Hong Kong New Wave, challenging genre conventions and censorship restrictions with films like Butterfly Murders and Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind.
In 1984, Tsui co-founded Film Workshop, leading to a series of commercially successful films that defined the golden era of Hong Kong cinema. Works such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman, and Once Upon a Time in China solidified his dominance in Asia.
After directing films in Hollywood, Tsui returned to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s and expanded his reach globally with films like Iron Monkey and Time and Tide, which reinvented Hong Kong action genre for international audiences.
From 2011, Tsui ventured into 3D filmmaking with films like Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon. His film The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D earned him the Best Director award at the Golden Rooster Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Other notable achievements was co-directing and co-producing The Battle at Lake Changjin, a record-breaking Chinese film that garnered Best Directors and Best Film awards at the Golden Rooster Film Awards. Most recently, his film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, was an Official Selection for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, and The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, directed by him, was released in 2025.
About The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Limited
Another highlight is the Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival (SummerIFF), held every August. In 2021, HKIFFS restructured its film industry services and set up HKIFF Industry to promote and support non-mainstream film industry development through co-production, festival strategies, and overseas distribution (HKIFF Collection).
About Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency
About The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels
They liaise closely with the business and commercial sectors, politicians and the media to promote Hong Kong Kong’s role as a super-connector between Mainland China and the rest of the world. HKETO, Brussels helps arrange the visits of Hong Kong senior officials to Europe; organizes or co-organises trade and investment promotion seminars, and cultural and networking events.
📍 Club de l’Étoile, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris (près de l’Arc de Triomphe)
💶 Tarif : 5 €