By Variety | Created at 2025-03-18 01:41:34 | Updated at 2025-03-18 06:01:18
5 hours ago
“The Age of Goodbyes,” a Malaysian-Taiwanese co-production directed by Edmund Yeo, has been selected for this year’s Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that runs alongside Hong Kong FilMart.
The drama, adapted from Malaysian author Li Zi Shu’s acclaimed 2012 novel, is produced by David Tang, Edmund Yeo, Dennis Lai and Zhao Jin. The producers have secured most of the $830,000 budget and are seeking international sales agents, co-producers and pre-sales opportunities at HAF.
Set in Malaysia, the film follows a young woman named Du Li An who falls in love with a man named Lin Sang in 1969 before he mysteriously disappears. Years later, after marrying a gangster and becoming stepmother to a teenage girl, Du Li An encounters a man who looks exactly like her vanished lover. The decade-spanning narrative blends elements of romance, mystery and coming-of-age storytelling.
“I read the entire book over one weekend, absolutely immersed,” said Yeo. “Her vivid descriptions of the people living and surviving in Ipoh during those tumultuous times gave me a strange feeling of homesickness even though I’ve never personally experienced that era before.”
Yeo, whose 2017 feature “Aqerat (We, the Dead)” won best director at the Tokyo International Film Festival, explained that the project has personal connections to his family history. “My mother is from Ipoh too, along with my late grandparents. The book triggered my imagination of the long-ago Ipoh they lived in … I feel a strong urge to preserve the feelings and memories of my mother’s family of that particular time through film.”
The film is a co-production between Renaissance Films and Happy Together Pictures, bringing together talent from both Taiwan and Malaysia.
Producer David Tang, whose credits include “Who Killed Cock Robin” (2017) and “The Soul” (2021), said: “Edmund Yeo is a very talented young filmmaker. We first met at the Hong Kong HAF last year, and after just a 10-minute conversation, I was certain that I wanted to support him.”
Tang emphasized the importance of international collaboration: “With the development of globalization, films are no longer just cultural products of a specific region or country. We need to bring together filmmakers from different places, merging diverse ideas and integrating each other’s strengths.”
Malaysian producer Dennis Lai noted the project’s cultural significance: “I have always felt that Malay-Chinese novels are waiting to be discovered by more people. They have this cultural hybrid beauty, with surprises at every turn.”
The producers hope to appeal to global audiences despite the story’s specific cultural setting. “This cross-cultural emotional connection is, for me, one of the most charming aspects of cinema,” Tang said.
Yeo’s previous works include “Moonlight Shadow” (2021) and “River of Exploding Durians” (2014). His short film “Kingyo” (2009) was selected for competition at the Venice Film Festival.
