Canadian Premiere
Veteran Hong Kong star Eric Tsang (Infernal Affairs) has a field day here as Chi Kwong, a terrible actor (actually a retiree who works as an extra in HK movies) whose unwaveringly cheerful and sunny disposition makes him a natural for WeFamily, a rent-a-mom-and-pop operation. In his first assignment, Kwong plays a stern dad to a distraught daughter taking her first driving lesson. When a cop commandeers the car to chase a runaway criminal, he assumes that’s all part of the script (it isn’t). Another client needs a respectable family to present to her prospective in-laws (not a great long-term plan, to be sure), a scheme which immediately goes off the rails when her fiancé’s family arrives for dinner an hour early.
If the opening salvos favour broad slapstick and farce, this unapologetic crowd-pleaser has a few tricks up its sleeve and more emotional registers than you might expect. It’s a full meal, and Tsang’s fans will savour every moment.
Presented by

Media Partner
Eric Tsang, Carlos Chan, Catherine Chau, Tien Niu
Hong Kong
2022
In Cantonese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
Chronovisor
A device so sensitive it can pick up emanations from history, the Chronovisor caused a ripple in scientific circles in the latter half of the 20th century, although most dismissed it as a hoax. But why would anyone want to suppress a hoax?
Tokyo Taxi
An overworked taxi driver takes 85-year-old Madame Sumire on a final journey through Tokyo, revisiting the places that shaped her life. Yoji Yamada’s 91st film is a moving, heartwarming love letter to Tokyo, nominated for nine Japanese Academy Awards.
KAKU KAKU SHIKA JIKA fka Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey
Adapted from acclaimed manga artist Akiko Higashimura’s autobiographical manga is a funny and sharply observed coming-of-age story about the creative awakening of a master of manga.
Blue Boy Trial
Transgender filmmaker Kasho Iizuka revisits 1960s Japan and the sensational “Blue Boy Trial,” sparked by the arrest of a doctor performing sex reassignment surgeries. With trans actors in central roles, the film powerfully illuminates buried history, identity, dignity, and resilience.
Credits
Producer
Eric Tsang, Jason Siu
Screenwriter
Ashley Cheung Yin Kei, Wong Wing Hong, Neil, Benny Lau
Cinematography
Oliver Lau
Editor
Milk Su
Original Music
Alan Wong, Janet Yung
Art Director
Ceci Fok Pui Sze
Director
Benny Lau
Benny Lau is a film director and screenwriter based in Hong Kong, best known for exploring love and family relationships in his films. Lau’s first short film, Mr. Right (2008), was presented in Busan International Film Festival and Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. His second feature film, When Sun Meets Moon (2017), was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, and won the Audience Award in the East Winds Film Festival. Lau’s next feature, Your World, Without Me (2021) was selected for the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.
Filmography: Wong Ka Yan (2015); When Sun Meets Moon (2018); Your World, Without Me (2021); Burning (2022)

