‘Mama’s Affair’, Hong Kong Family Drama Starring Mirror Members Keung To & Jer Lau, To Release In The UK

EXCLUSIVE: Trinity CineAsia has acquired UK rights to Hong Kong family drama Mama’s Affair, which marks the film acting debut of two members of hot local boy band Mirror, Keung To and Jer Lau, from Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures.

Directed by Kearen Pang, the film opened at the Hong Kong box office last weekend (August 11), where it took the number one position with a weekend gross of HK$10.1m ($1.29m), including HK$930,440 ($119,000) from previews, in the process out-performing Brad Pitt-starrer Bullet Train now in its second weekend.

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Mama’s Affair is being released in the UK on August 19, just one week after its Hong Kong debut. It premiered at Japan’s Osaka Asian Film Festival in March and recently played at New York Asian Film Festival.

Cast in the film also includes Teresa Mo, playing a former top artiste manager, who chose family over career when she got pregnant. When she meets a young waiter, played by Keung To, it creates tension between her and her 17-year-old son, played by Jer Lau.

Pang is a writer, director and actress across both theatre and films, whose 2017 directorial debut 29+1 won best new director and picked up six other nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

After a depressing start to the year, when Hong Kong’s cinemas were closed for four months between January and April due to Covid, the territory is starting to see a revival of sorts for local films with recent hits including work-from-home comedy Chilli Laugh Story. More new films are being premiered at Hong Kong International Film Festival, which kicked off last weekend (August 15-31).

Trinity CineAsia recently released Chilli Laugh Story in the UK, where it is tapping into a growing audience of Hong Kong people who are choosing to move to the UK following the introduction of the National Security Law and changing political climate at home.

Cedric Behrel, Trinity CineAsia director, said: “We are overjoyed, so soon after the success of Chilli Laugh Story, to bring what already promises to be the hit of the late summer in Hong Kong to the UK a week after its original release. It’s rewarding to be able to reaffirm our commitment to new Hong Kong cinema and a wonderful opportunity to work with Emperor Motion Pictures again”.

Pang said: “On the surface, this is a story about family, but what I really want to explore is loneliness. Each of the three main characters have to deal with sudden changes in life, and they must each take a look into their innermost feelings including frustration and abandonment.”

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