Lilting, Monsoon Filmmaker Hong Khaou Unveils Hong Kong-Set Epidemic Drama Wall

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Acclaimed filmmaker Hong Khaou‘s “Walled City” has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart.

Khaou’s debut, “Lilting” (2014), starring Ben Whishaw and Cheng Pei-pei, premiered in the world cinema dramatic competition at Sundance, winning best cinematography. “Monsoon” (2019), his second feature, starred Henry Golding and premiered in competition at Karlovy Vary. Most recently, he directed episodes of the TV series “Alice & Jack” (2023) with Andrea Riseborough, which premiered at Toronto.

“Walled City,” set in spring 2003 will follow Rui, a U.S.-educated Hong Kong doctor who is distressed by the spiking number of cases of a new and unknown disease. To relieve stress, he visits his favorite bar where he meets Loïc, a French journalist. An unlikely friendship begins, with the ensuing epidemic rendering them both isolated together. Eventually, the conflicting ethics of their professions threaten to jeopardize their friendship, leaving an emotional void that stays long after the disease has dissipated.

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“As a Cambodian-born British Chinese whose mother spoke Cantonese, I feel a very personal connection to the protagonist, Rui, who is also caught between two cultures. ‘Walled City’ is a story about a friendship forged out of a difficult and turbulent time in Hong Kong, some 20 years ago. We rarely see films about male friendship in cinemas nowadays, but told in a way that is sensitive and deeply moving. And what enables this friendship is the circumstance that they were both stuck in — the SARS epidemic. At the time, SARS was seen by the rest of the world as something foreign and unfamiliar. Interestingly, COVID has now made that epidemic seem more universal. Though our film isn’t about the epidemic itself, I like how the film can offer a distance from it whilst at the same time feel relatable,” Khaou told Variety.

“We hope that people can be moved by the film and can relate to the friendship of two men finding themselves in the world. They come from different cultures yet met in Hong Kong, a historically international city, under very unique circumstances,” Khaou added.

Writer and producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who co-founded Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC) and whose producing credits include Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives” (2022) and Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice” (2016), told Variety, “2003 was a very turbulent year for Hong Kong: the city was under a temporary lockdown, and two cultural icons, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, passed away. And out of that crisis, somehow deep friendships and communities were formed. It has now become a very significant year, a period that Hong Kongers can now look back on with nostalgia and pride. A bold and resilient city that could overcome major obstacles — this is our love letter to Hong Kong and its people.”

Phathanavirangoon believes that with the success of recent films such as “Past Lives” and “Minari,” there is now a potential for films set in the Asian milieu that uses both English and an Asian language, which in the case of “Walled City,” is Cantonese. Khaou hopes to evoke a sense of nostalgia for a place and time, as well memories of those people may have lost along the way, similar to what “Aftersun” and “The Eight Mountains” achieved.

The Hong Kong production company behind “Walled City” is ProduSa, founded by Teresa Kwong, whose most recent credit is Ray Yeung’s 2024 Berlinale winner “All Shall Be Well.” “Since we are unveiling this Hong Kong-set, majority English-language project to the world here, we hope to meet Hong Kong players looking into the potential of a predominantly English-language film set in the territory with a recognized named cast. We also welcome other potential co-production partners from around the world, including from France, since one of our main cast is French. And we’re happy to also introduce the story to potential sales agents, distributors, investors and more. We cannot think of a better place to introduce people to our project,” Kwong said about the $3 million budgeted project.

“We started developing ‘Walled City’ last year, and as the project is set in Hong Kong, we have long set our sights on HAF for our unveiling. Recently we have begun applying for international funds, and as a unique Hong Kong-U.K.-Singapore co-production with established producers such as U.K.’s Gabrielle Tana [“Philomena”] and Boo Junfeng’s Peanut Pictures in Singapore, we plan to apply for support in all three territories,” Phathanavirangoon added.

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