Asian Stories‧Next Gen

To celebrate the Festival’s 50th anniversary, the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, in partnership with Carry On Film, launches a new initiative—Asian Stories: Next Gen—dedicated to supporting feature-length projects.

The selected project will receive RMB 1.5 million in funding for development and production. It will be paired with an executive producer/mentor, who will provide creative guidance and advice throughout the entire process, from development through shooting. We are pleased to announce JIA ZHANGKE as the mentor for the 2027 edition.

Submissions are open from today through August 31 to applicants across Asian countries and territories, and are aimed at narrative feature films with a running time of 70 minutes or longer. Once the selected project has completed production, it will be screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Details regarding eligibility and criteria are available on the website.

Initiated in 2026, the programme’s first selected project is directed by Wang Jie, with Shuang Xuetao serving as producer and mentor, and is scheduled to begin shooting later this year. The second selected project will be mentored by Jia Zhangke; the call for submissions will take place this year, with pre-production set to begin in 2027.