Accomplishments

Academy of Film graduate Oliver Chan wins First Feature Film Initiative

Oliver Chan, 2015 graduate of the Academy of Film (AF) of the School of Communication, won the championship in the Higher Education Institution Group of the third First Feature Film Initiative (FFFI) with her movie creation “Still Human”. She will gain HK$3.5 million funding from the Film Development Fund (FDF) to bring her winning commercial feature film proposal to the big screen.

“Still Human” is a love story between a paralysed middle-aged man and a young Filipino maid. Oliver attributed the winning to the originality of the story and said it gave her more confidence for future productions. “I have full confidence in the script but winning a competition depends on many variables. I was already very satisfied and happy when my proposal entered the final round, so when it was announced as the winner of the competition, I was exhilarated” she said.

Oliver is now preparing for the production of the movie, including the forming of a production team, selecting actors and so on. She hopes to finish filming this year so that the movie can be screened in 2018. She thanked her family members, teachers of HKBU Academy of Film, as well as peers and predecessors in the film industry for their generous support. “I would like to especially thank Mr Chan Kuo who has given me lots of valuable advice and support throughout the whole process,” she said.

This is the second HKBU alumni to have won in the same competition. Mr Steve Chan, 2012 graduate of the Academy of Film, won the first FFFI competition with his work entitled "Weeds on Fire", which did very well at the box office when it was commercially released in Hong Kong in August of last year.

FFFI is hosted by Create Hong Kong of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to identify new talents through a competition on screenplay and production proposals. FFFI, which takes the form of a competition has two categories for entries, namely the Higher Education Institution Group and the Professional Group, with one prize for each group. The winning teams will receive funding from the FDF to produce, shoot and distribute their first commercial feature film.

 

	Oliver Chan (left) wins in the Higher Education Institution Group of the third First Feature Film Initiative