Edmund Yeo Brings Literary Adaptation ‘Age of Goodbyes’ to Hong Kong

“The Age of Goodbyes,” a Malaysian-Taiwanese co-production directed by Edmund Yeo, has been chosen for this 12 months’s Hong Kong — Asia Movie Financing Discussion board (HAF), the mission market that runs alongside Hong Kong FilMart.

The drama, tailored from Malaysian writer Li Zi Shu’s acclaimed 2012 novel, is produced by David Tang, Edmund Yeo, Dennis Lai and Zhao Jin. The producers have secured many of the $830,000 funds and are looking for worldwide gross sales brokers, co-producers and pre-sales alternatives at HAF.

Set in Malaysia, the movie follows a younger lady named Du Li An who falls in love with a person named Lin Sang in 1969 earlier than he mysteriously disappears. Years later, after marrying a gangster and turning into stepmother to a teenage lady, Du Li An encounters a person who appears precisely like her vanished lover. The last decade-spanning narrative blends parts of romance, thriller and coming-of-age storytelling.

“I learn your entire guide over one weekend, completely immersed,” stated Yeo. “Her vivid descriptions of the folks dwelling and surviving in Ipoh throughout these tumultuous occasions gave me a wierd feeling of homesickness despite the fact that I’ve by no means personally skilled that period earlier than.”

Yeo, whose 2017 characteristic “Aqerat (We, the Useless)” received greatest director on the Tokyo Worldwide Movie Competition, defined that the mission has private connections to his household historical past. “My mom is from Ipoh too, together with my late grandparents. The guide triggered my creativeness of the long-ago Ipoh they lived in … I really feel a powerful urge to protect the emotions and recollections of my mom’s household of that specific time by movie.”

The movie is a co-production between Renaissance Movies and Glad Collectively Photos, bringing collectively expertise from each Taiwan and Malaysia.

Producer David Tang, whose credit embrace “Who Killed Cock Robin” (2017) and “The Soul” (2021), stated: “Edmund Yeo is a really proficient younger filmmaker. We first met on the Hong Kong HAF final 12 months, and after only a 10-minute dialog, I used to be sure that I needed to help him.”

Tang emphasised the significance of worldwide collaboration: “With the event of globalization, movies are now not simply cultural merchandise of a selected area or nation. We have to convey collectively filmmakers from totally different locations, merging numerous concepts and integrating one another’s strengths.”

Malaysian producer Dennis Lai famous the mission’s cultural significance: “I’ve all the time felt that Malay-Chinese language novels are ready to be found by extra folks. They’ve this cultural hybrid magnificence, with surprises at each flip.”

The producers hope to attraction to international audiences regardless of the story’s particular cultural setting. “This cross-cultural emotional connection is, for me, one of the charming facets of cinema,” Tang stated.

Yeo’s earlier works embrace “Moonlight Shadow” (2021) and “River of Exploding Durians” (2014). His quick movie “Kingyo” (2009) was chosen for competitors on the Venice Movie Competition.