The 30th ifva Awards Highlights x MovieBloc Special Online Showcase
Following the successful conclusion of the 30th ifva Awards and Festival, the Hong Kong Arts Centre announces a renewed partnership with MovieBloc this December.
From 7 to 20 December, ifva presents a free online showcase featuring six award-winning works from the 30th ifva Awards, including short films, animations and AI Creation works from Hong Kong and beyond. Spanning the tentative romance between two students rehearsing a stage play, the regrets of a final day, healing after a friend’s death, an absurdist take on personal boundaries, an AI-driven visual experiment inspired by the late Tang poet Yu Xuanji, and a teenage’s journey through academic pressure, the showcase offers diverse and bold perspectives on contemporary emotions, identity and everyday life from emerging creators across the region.
These online screenings will be available for free on designated dates, allowing audiences worldwide to enjoy these distinctive award-winning works at their convenience. Spanning traditional storytelling and AI-driven visual experimentation, it showcases the unique perspectives and creative energy of emerging creators from Hong Kong and across Asia.
Founded by the Hong Kong Arts Centre in 1995, ifva is Hong Kong’s longest-running short film competition, dedicated to discovering and nurturing emerging talents in independent film and media art across Hong Kong and Asia. This latest collaboration continues to create a broader showcase platform for promising new creators and promote image exchange across the region.
Follow ifva on Instagram @ifva_hk and visit ifva.com for the latest updates.
Stay tuned!
The 30th ifva Awards
Open Group - Best Award
The Red Kiss
Steve Li, Chan Tsz Kwan Amy
Hong Kong / 24'38'' / In Cantonese and Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles
Two 16-year-old girls, Qian and Vicky, are torn between the lines of friendship and romance, unsure where they truly stand, as they rehearse for a love drama in summer holiday. Before the school starts, the secret kissing plot is exposed and their show is banned. Yet, it unfolds Qian’s courage that she decides to make a bold move on the first school day.
Youth Group - Best Award
Golden Haze
Ashley Kwok
Hong Kong / 11'00'' / In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
"What I’ve always been chasing after, was not more than a thin layer of Golden Haze. However, I have never once realised, what lies beyond the shining mirage." A top student, haunted by the pressure to succeed, finds her rigid equilibrium disrupted when she stumbles into unexpected journeys and quiet moments of self realisation through external circumstances. Until, for the first time, with naked, unguarded eyes, she peeks into the bright sunlight beyond the haze, and realises, she is freed from the soulless, uninvited notes, the world beyond that halo of light has always been waiting for her, to play out her own shining future.
AI Creation - Best Award
The Tale of the Peony
Liu Yu Qing, Sun Jin Tao
China, Hong Kong / 07'57'' / In Mandarin with Simplified Chinese and English subtitles
The Tale of the Peony is an AI-generated experimental short film inspired by the life of the late Tang dynasty poet Yu Xuanji. After entering a Taoist convent, Yu Xuanji buries a lock of her hair in the courtyard, and the peony there gradually takes on an eerie crimson hue. A young scholar, Wang Sheng, comes to visit out of curiosity. Their brief encounter soon triggers a strange calamity—vine-like demonic patterns appear on his body, and he ultimately withers away like crumpled paper. Rumors spread rapidly, and the blame falls entirely on Yu Xuanji......
International Tertiary Students Group (Short Film) - Best Award
(M)OTHER
Tsai Chi Min (Taipei National University of the Arts)
Taiwan / 27'54'' / In Min Nan, Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles
Today is A-Wei's last day, but it is her first day with Ching.
Animation - Best Award
Boundaries
Yee Seun
South Korea / 10'23'' / No Dialogue and Subtitles
A passenger on a bus reclines their seat too far back. This small gesture shifts the balance of the space, leading everyone on board in an unexpected direction.
Tertiary Students Group (Animation) - Best Award
Stacy
Lin Yi Ling (Taipei National University of the Arts)
Taiwan / 08'51'' / In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles
Toothbag's friend commits suicide, she wraps her regret in anger, trying to let go of her chaotic emotions, can't help but frequently flip through her past memories, but still couldn't accept it. In an unexpected dream, Toothbag had a heated conversation with her friend, was reminded to read the suicide note carefully. After she woke up, she began to want to try to leave behind her fantasies and obsessions with her friend and respect this fact.
