1:99 Shorts

April, 2003
With the support of our government, Federation of Hong Kong Film Workers has kicked off the 1:99 Shorts in late April, commissioning twelve one-minute shorts from celebrated film directors, thereby raising the moral as well as the awareness of the people of Hong Kong.

Story 1
Working Title: Smile
Director: Teddy Chen
Synopsis:
As the epidemic fades, people resume their busy life without being able to resume happiness. But smiling faces pass by us everyday. All you need is to pay a little bit more attention, and you'll see its omnipresence. A LITTLE BIT MORE presents a humorous approach on viewing our city through the search of smiling faces. Scored with 'Always look on a bright side'.

Story 2
Working Title: Of A Cause (Animation)
Director: Tsui Hark
Synopsis
A new chapter for the 70's local comic book hero Master Q. Master Q, Sweet Potato & Mr. Ching live in a small island where they fight endlessly. One day, they find themselves surrounded by copious hungry sharks. With the help of civilized Miss Chan, all people in the island unite to overcome adversity.

Story 3
Working Title: Hong Kong - A Winner
Director: Stephen Chow
Synopsis
The passage of a SARS patient, a mother, in an isolated award… Through communications on the net, we are exposed to the patient's optimism and courage towards live and hardship. SURE WIN is about this fighting spirit in the face of a deadly disease even if you are in the lower hand. The patient's family is brought closer together. They too recover from their plight and resume normal life.

Story 4
Working Title: Family Of Heroes
Director: Alex Law and Mabel Cheung
Actor: Anthony Wong
Synopsis
How did our younger generation make it through the turbulence of SARS? What kind of a role model or inspirations did we offer them? Now that the epidemics subside, has the traumatic experience mature our children? And towards what direction?

Story 5
Working Title: Rhapsody
Director: Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai
Actor: Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, Lau Ching-wan, To Man-chik and Lam Suet
Synopsis
By recuperating the grass-root favorite oldies from the 70's and 80's, Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, and Lau Ching-Wan take cameos in this tribute MTV to celebrate the remarkable qualities of the people of Hong Kong - their optimism, persistence, determination, and finally, their indestructibility. An effort to encourage our citizens to continue demonstrating these fine qualities in the face of SARS - to rule SARS out of Hong Kong and restore our city to its glory.

Story 6
Working Title: My Sow Is Not Feeling Well
Director: Fruit Chan
Actor: Shine
Synopsis
Shine - the singing duo - takes times off the stage in this occasion and goes to the pig farm. Their pigs were pardoned from the latest episode of the epidemics, yet suddenly one day, one of the sows is in trouble. She feels depressed, cannot eat and refuses to move. Everyone is concerned whether she has caught something terrible… could that be the sign of the second strike of SARS?

Story 7
Working Title: Spring, 2003
Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Synopsis
In the spring of 2003, an unprecedented storm was brewing over the Victoria Habour, chilling the city to its marrow… And the odds could only be overcome by courage and optimism.

Story 8
Working Title:Who's Miss Hong Kong?
Director: Joe Ma
Actor: Eason Chan, Cookie, 3T, Chow Lai-kee, Wu Fung and Chang Ying-choi
Synopsis
12 nervous beauty queens, in mandarin suits and with rigid smiles, line in front of the TV camera inside the studio amidst festive band sound. 2 MCs - Eason Chan & Lydia Shum -- fiddle with a sealed envelop as to add onto the hype of the revelation of its content. Finally, they break the seal and announce...

Story 9
Working Title:A Glorious Future
Director: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak
Synopsis
It took Hong Kong over a hundred years to transform from a small fishing town into the metropolis today. But it was not out of sheer luck; the epidemics of the rats and cholera, droughts and floods, the Japanese Occupation in WWII, typhoons, and the 1997 stock crash… each of these disasters alone would have sufficed to wipe out the entire city. But the people of Hong Kong were able to make a turn-around every time in adversity. We survived because we were determined and had never given up hope. In the face of SARS the new disease and the consequential discrimination overseas, we have to unify once again to fight the odds. And our future will continue to blossom.

Story 10
Working Title:Until Then
Director: Gordon Chan
Actor: Aaron Kwok, Dayo Wong, Gigi Leung, Josie Ho and Gigi Lai
Synopsis
Whenever a disaster strikes, some of us will always depend on the others to come up with a solution, and keep on whining until then. But the problem will not vanish if everyone hides in his/her own niche. Through humor, a team of renowned comedians is going to remind us of taking action instead of sitting on the problem. The settings are familiar commoner spots like a local-style tea-and-snack shop, the Star Ferry, and the Temple Street.