
Heiward Mak Hei-Yan
Writing
Biography
Heiward Mak majored in design studies at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, but became interested in filmmaking after she graduated in 2003. She entered the creative media program at the City University of Hong Kong and began making short films. Her graduation short won an award at the IFVA Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards, attracting the attention of actor-producer Eric Tsang. She was promptly hired to work alongside veteran Aubrey Lam on the script to Men Suddenly in Black 2 (2006), the sequel to Pang Ho-cheung’s popular comedy. At the time, Tsang was involved in the production of a trilogy of films about high school students, set in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China, respectively. The trilogy was entitled Winds of September, after the Taiwanese installment, and Tsang hired Mak to write and direct the Hong Kong episode. Mak was only in her early twenties at the time, and her film High Noon (2008) received critical accolades as an energetic and unhackneyed look at Hong Kong’s disaffected youth. It also won her a nomination as Best New Director at the 2009 Hong Kong Film Awards.
Known For

A group of former mercenaries reunite to plan an epic heist: boosting a truck full of medicine held by a foreign intelligence agency to supply a refugee camp in need. But when they find the truck is actually filled with stolen gold, the band of brothers realize they’ve been double-crossed by one of their own - and putting the situation right will be all out war.
Golden Job

After his business goes bust, Ng Shun and his family move back to his old apartment to stay with his father. He has not returned for 10 years because the apartment is too small for his family. Furthermore, the environment is unfamiliar to Shun's family. Coincidentally Shun's old childhood friend, Lung returns too. Due to an old misunderstanding, Shun is distrustful of Lung. Will Lung regain Shun's trust again?
I Love Hong Kong 2011

When the Hong Kong government enacts a ban on smoking cigarettes indoors, hard-core smokers are driven outside and a budding romance develops between two co-workers.
Love in a Puff

The war between men and women never ends... Last time, Tin, Dr. Lee and Chao failed in the "mission", but they didn't take this as a lesson. They are more cautions these years and success to fool around behind their wives. This time, the team grows by a new comer - a university student Sai. At the same time, Mary, Ching, Chao's wife and Ling (Sai's girlfriend) get a DVD from Auntie Ninth. It is a very popular DVD among women recently, which is a documentary to teach women how to fooling around. Four women go to Macau to break the bond of morality. It is too late when the men discover this. They rush to Macau to ruin the women's plan. A battle between women and men begins...
Men Suddenly in Black 2

After her father died, a Hong Kong girl discovers she has two hitherto unknown sisters, one in Taiwan and one in China. To settle her father's debt, she must reunite with them to run the family's hot pot restaurant.
Fagara

Just out of jail, Fai finds a spot on a street corner where other homeless people welcome him. But he doesn’t get much time to settle in. The police soon chase them away, and their possessions disappear into a garbage truck. Young social worker Ms. Ho thinks it’s time to fight this in court. In the meantime, Fai and his friends have other concerns.
Drifting

Zhou Yi is about to leave on holiday with her boyfriend Woody, until an argument makes Zhou Yi to dump him at the airport. Their breakup is being witnessed by her ex-boyfriend.
Ex

When an accident temporarily robs her of her voice, Diva J flees to a small deserted village to heal both her mental and physical wounds. Her life changes when she meets and falls in love with the blind Hu Ming, who inspires her to make a comeback. But, in her absence, a new diva has risen. R has become an overnight sensation that everyone sees as the main contender for J's crown. Yet, their successes have come at a high price. J is secretly pining for a forbidden love that seems destined to wither, and R has found that the road to stardom is littered with estranged friends and painful break-ups. But in the midst of this, both divas rise to find their own voice.
Diva

The Hong Kong chapter of Eric Tsang's "Growing-up Trilogy" bears testimony to the saying: "The kindness of the gods is manifested in allowing young people to embark on life unprepared." Heiward Mak, the 23-year-old director whom people in the inner circle repute to be the next shining star of Hong Kong cinema, crafts a string of vignettes about seven young people about to sit for a major public exam. Clever, humorous, angry and dangerous, this is the Cruel Stories of Youth for the Me Generation of this century of globalization and mediocrity
High Noon

Daniel, a gay banker, falls for Kafka, a straight instructor battling addiction, believing love can conquer all, but past memories threaten their bond.
Amphetamine

An absentee father and his bipolar son are forced to live together as they struggle with a recent family tragedy. The tension and anxiety boil as they live and try to cope in a tiny apartment. As time passes, they realize their shared pain is not their only source of grief, as they find the outside world is a cruel and unjust place.
Mad World

Four short films by four Hong Kong directors.
Quattro Hong Kong

An omnibus of 4 short stories, each of them occurring in different corners of our society, but all of which encompass the same themes: courage, determination, pursuance and hope.
Good Take, Too!

“Ambivalence means… nothing has happened, but you remember everything.” Another coming-of-age story about youngsters who are always desperate for but also afraid of falling in love, director Heiward Mak (High Noon, Ex, Diva) continues to examine the ambivalence of youthful love like an autopsy in this episodic adventure among a group of twenty-something. These characters might be a bunch of losers in love who are searching for self-esteem and recognition, but what make these intertwining tales relevant today are not just the pain and longing, but also the bittersweet memories and emotional growth of Hong Kong’s post-90s generation.
Uncertain Relationships Society

They are frozen in place, stagnating without any direction. Around them, things change rapidly.
Pseudo Secular

A time and space that get mixed up, A brother and a sister, One who loves starting fire, Whereas the other loves extinguishing it, An unusual relationship.
Fire Room

High Noon was Sham Ka-ki's breakthrough in acting. At the age of eighteen, he directed his debut documentary short film, Life Must Go On. The film documents and exudes the joy of youth through cinematic images that observe Sham’s surroundings and his quotidian life in a stiff housing estate. In this short film, he questions the meaning of life, but finds answers to and proof of happiness from friends and family.
Life Must Go On

A pair of lovers, one of whom is a humanoid, go to a robot repair shop hoping to have their relationship mended by the mechanic. On his advice, the human owner Jackie agrees to an irreversible upgrade for Tammy, her humanoid soulmate. However, the results are not as expected. Tammy meets Anima, a fellow humanoid, setting in motion a series of events in a tango between the intangible sense of love, the harsh reality of possession, and the price of independence.
Anima Possession

A devoted couple settled themselves in Hong Kong decades ago through turmoil across the border, navigated through ebb and flow together in life. Since the stroke of the wife, Yeung Ha (Brenda Chan), they were both physically and mentally weighed down. Husband Lau Choi (Ying To Li), with his unswerving affection, continues their journey to the other side of life as it vanish away.
Take Us to the Island

On, a primary school boy, seeks guidance from a Chinese chess scammer, who sets up endgames in the park. The two lonely souls find solace in their mentorship as they lie their ways out.