Mentorship Award Programme
ifva will continue to feature the ifva Festival and Awards presentation, including Best Short Film, Best Animation, and Special Mention awards. In addition, we are introducing a new Mentorship Award to provide further support to emerging filmmakers in Hong Kong. This award is open exclusively to Hong Kong entrants and aims to support emerging talent through personalised guidance, industry exposure, and ongoing creative development.
Timeline:
1 - 19 Aug
Select and confirm mentees
Select and confirm mentees
24 - 31 Aug
Mentee announcement; Connect mentors and mentees
Sep - Oct
Mentorship Sessions
Oct
Sharing session (To be announced)
Selected project and mentee
Open Group
Landing On Ice
Director: Jane Leung
Mentor: Oliver Chan Siu Kuen
A young Hong Kong figure skater went to Toronto for perusing her skating dream, she got lost between her imaginations and reality while she felt in love with her best friend.
Youth Group
Feel My Empty Soul
Director: Nicole Wong
Mentor: Fung Wai Sze
Reuniting with lost innocence, he moves on with a wry smile—seeking his own exit, balancing reality and desire.
Animation
Broc!
Director: Calvin Woo, Wong Chung Him
Mentor: Nic Ho
In a zombie world, Boi and Gal awaken into humanity after devouring a mysterious broccoli. As civilisation rises from love and loss, Boi builds technology to “save” Gal from reverting. But as progress grows, Gal begins to question whether being human truly means domination.
Mentors
Oliver CHAN Siu Kuen
A new generation director, scriptwriter and producer from Hong Kong. She graduated from business school of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and received an MFA in Scriptwriting at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her debut feature STILL HUMAN was selected by various international film festivals and earned her awards including Best New Director of the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards. Her second feature MONTAGES OF A MODERN MOTHERHOOD has been selected by the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents Competition Section and Tokyo International Film Festival’s Women Empowerment Section.
Fung Wai Sze
Among “The 25 Best Chinese Language Movies of 2024,” according to Asian Movie Pulse, Wai-sze headed the production team on three of them. They are Berlin Teddy-Award winner All Shall Be Well, Golden Horse Netpac-Award winner Montages of a Modern Motherhood, and Nara Audience-Award winner Borrowed Time. He was also the Associate Producer of Blossoms Under Somewhere, the opening film of the 2024 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. Wai-sze operates an independent film production company, Trend Rolling Production. His other recent works include Twilight’s Kiss, Far Far Away, Stand Up Story and Unidentified Murder.
Nic Ho
Animation director from Hong Kong, known for award-winning animation: Blacky the Metal Arm Cat, Ngau Chau is coming to town, Mountains and Seas, Behind the Schoolbag. His films received ifva Gold Awards and DigiCon6 ASIA Silver Awards, and were selected by top festivals including Annecy, Taipei Golden Horse etc.
