Giraffe Pictures “Skin Coat”, the only animated project in the HAF21 line-up.

Film projects involving Anthony Chen, Fruit Chan, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Marco Mueller and Zhang Lu adorn the lineup of the upcoming Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum project market.

The 21st edition of the market will be held as an in-person event for the first time after a hiatus that forced HAF into a digital-only format for the past three years. It will operate March 13 – 15 alongside the 27th Hong Kong Film & TV Market (FilMart), March 13-16.

From 244 submissions, HAF organizers selected 28 in-development projects for this year’s market. Of these, half are by prospective first-time directors. Eight of the 28 are Chinese-language projects developed by young filmmakers at recent editions of the HAF Film Lab coaching program.

Organizers will announce a further list of work-in-progress projects, after the Chinese New Year holidays later this month.

Chen, director of “Ilo Ilo” and “Wet Season,” is attached as producer of two HAF entries. With Xie Meng, he is producing “A Better Tomorrow,” a mainland Chinese coming-of-age drama to be directed by Tang Peiyan. With Teoh Yi Peng, he is also producing “Skin Coat,” the only animated project in the HAF21 line-up. To be made by Tan Wei Keong, it depicts a man donning a woman’s skin coat to enter his male lover’s village and meet his parents.