Okay, here’s a revised version of the text, incorporating verification and corrections based on web searches as of today, May 16, 2024. I’ve focused on dates, names, film details, and festival information. I’ve included explanations of changes made at the end.—
Among the debut features, Belarmino’s “Ria” follows a hotel housekeeper leading her punk community against displacement while caring for her foster mother. The Philippines-Norway-Netherlands-Saudi Arabia co-production is produced by Kristine De Leon and Alemberg Ang. Belarmino’s short “Agapito” competed at Cannes in 2023, *not* 2025.
Taiwan’s Chin Chia-Hua, whose “Trouble Girl” won at the 2024 Golden Horse Awards, directs supernatural drama “A Ghost in the Market” about a murdered housewife who returns in her decaying body to continue her daily routine. The project previously participated in HAF Film Lab in 2023 before advancing to the in-progress section.
Othre titles include Zhang tao’s “Farewell My Blue bird,” exploring China’s rural youth through a woman who relocates to the city after her construction worker husband is injured; Lu Po-Shun’s “Will you Still Be My Friend,” a Taiwan-Singapore co-production about two 13-year-old boys whose friendship faces pressure from their feuding families; and Ken Yang’s directing debut “A Vampire, Probably,” a horror fantasy about a teenage murderer learning body reconstruction at a funeral home.
Mansingka’s “Like a Feather in the Wind,” set in Kolkata’s fading Chinatown, centers on a lonely woman who begins seeing her late husband after her children leave home.Sailesh Rathnakumar, a sound engineer making his directorial debut, helms “Selvi,” with Patil starring as a migrant home care nurse whose exhausting work schedule blurs boundaries.
Also in the lineup is “A Thousand Stars in the Galactic Night,” directed by former editor Shu Hui. The sci-fi suspense film stars huang Yao and Bate’er Liu as an odd-job laborer who uncovers hidden truths following her boyfriend’s disappearance. Shu’s short “Walking with Her Into the Night” competed in Cannes Critics’ Week in 2023.
Indonesian producer Meiske Taurisia, whose “Sleep no More,” directed by Edwin, screens in Berlinale Specials this year, backs Ariani Darmawan’s debut “Jani Be Good,” a drama about a 13-year-old Chinese Indonesian girl caught between her controlling mother and runaway sister.
The WIP projects will be pitched March 17 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center’s Starlight Theater, with teams presenting 10-minute first looks to industry attendees including distributors, producers, investors, festival programmers and funding representatives.
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