“Barbarian Invasion” wins the Jury Grand Prix in the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Awards on 19 June. The film is presented by Heaven Pictures, in co-production with The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.
Tan Chui Mui, a staple of the Malaysian New Wave, returns to the international film scene with third feature film “Barbarian Invasion”, filling the roles of director, writer and lead actor, her poignant and fun piece on body sovereignty, motherhood and martial arts. She brings much of her old crew back in front of the cameras, Pete Teo, James Lee and Bront Palare give strong performances in the film while Woo Ming Jin produces alongside Bianca Balbuena, known for her work with Lav Diaz.
In awarding “Barbarian Invasion”, the jury stated, “This film takes a genre that is familiar to us all and turns it on its tail. Its handling of pace is pitch perfect, as it continues to subvert and surprise at each turn. The director also bravely tackles her film through throwing herself fearlessly in the leading role.“ Due to the Covid-19 related travel restrictions, director Tancould not attend the award ceremony in Shanghai, project producer Yang Jin received the prize on behalf of Tan. Director Tan says, “Thanks Yang Jin for asking me if I am still able to make a feature film with one million? Thanks Wang Hongwei for inviting me to act as a female spy. Thanks my producer, Woo Ming Jin for helping me to complete the script. Thanks my producer, Bianca's love and warmth. Thanks Jia Zhangke for his guidance over the years. Thanks Sheng Zhiming for inviting several Malaysian New Wave directors to Fire Hook Screening. Thanks all the cast and crew of Barbarian Invasion. Thanks Da Huang Pictures team.”
“Barbarian Invasion” is one of a series of 6 films presented by Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Limited and Heaven Pictures with the theme “B2B Love Conquers All,” “B2B” stands for “Back to Basics”. Each filmmaker is assigned a budget of RMB¥1,000,000 (approximately US$145,000) and challenged to produce a high quality film without frills. On June 24, film director Yang Jin and Jacob Wong, director of HKIFF Industry (Hong Kong International Film Festival Industry Office) are offering a talk (conducted in Chinese, details below), on “Producing a High Quality Film with a Low Budget: Challenges and Joys”
“Barbarian Invasion” is also selected in the coming 2021 Summer International Film Festival which will be held in Hong Kong, from 17 to 30 August.
