Fruit Chan’s THE MIDNIGHT AFTER premieres at Berlinale in Panorama Special
THE MIDNIGHT AFTER by Fruit Chan (DUMPLINGS) will celebrate its world premiere in the Panorama Special section at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.
The film tells the story of 17 people, who come to realize that the entirepopulation of the planet has vanished – except for them.
Synopsis:
Imagine that the entire population of the planet has vanished, except for you and 16 other people. Do the moral principles and religious beliefs we live by still apply? If civilization has collapsed, how do we survive? How far would you be willing to go to get life back to normal?
In 2012, a novel which originated as an online serial became a publishing phenomenon in Hong Kong. Lost on a Red Minibus to Taipo by the writer known as “Pizza” was a huge popular success, despite being very different from any other Hong Kong novel ever written.
THE MIDNIGHT AFTER is Fruit Chan’s spectacular adaptation of the book, telling the story of a night bus driving from urban Hong Kong to the New Territories town of Tai Po. The driver and his 16 passengers travel through Lion Rock Tunnel and find themselves in a completely unrecognizable world on the other side. The film depicts a strange kind of apocalypse: a handful of typical Hong Kong residents appear to be the only people left alive on the planet, forcing them to rethink their identities, their relationships, and their future. In this unimaginable reality, the film subtly reveals the demons that lurk deep within human nature of its protagonists.
The film brings together such well-known stars of Hong Kong cinema as Simon Yam, Kara Hui and Suet Lam with top talents from the new generation of Hong Kong actors: You-nam Wong, Janice Man and Tien-you Chui. They play a range of authentic Hong Kong characters, giving the film a strong local flavour. Setting the film in a real-life location only serves to magnify the characters’ struggle against the unknown forces they face, creating a unique and compelling drama.
An uncanny and disturbing film,which provokes questions of identity and belonging.Director Fruit Chan had his breakthrough in 1997 with MADE IN HONG KONG. This fresh and highly innovative film triumphed at the annual film-award ceremonies in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and also won a Special Prize in Locarno.
This and Chan’s two subsequent features THE LONGEST SUMMER (1998) and LITTLE CHEUNG (1999) have made him an icon in Hong Kong’s burgeoning independent film scene. In 2004, Chan achieved great international success with the black comedy DUMPLINGS (World Premiere Berlinale 2005).
Now THE MIDNIGHT AFTER looks set to become part of the foundation in rebuilding the Hong Kong film industry.
The Midnight After
A film by Fruit Chan
Genre: Thriller
Country: Hong Kong 2014,
Duration: 124 minutes
Starring: You-nam Wong, Janice Man, Simon Yam, Kara Hui, Tien-you Chui, Suet Lamm
WORLD PREMIERE: Berlin International Film Festival
