Movies of War

Mar 16, 2026 5:25pm PT Lu Po-Shun Seeks Financing for Feature Debut ‘Will You Still Be My Friend’ at Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum By Lin Ying-Hsuan Plus Icon Lin Ying-Hsuan Latest Lu Po-Shun Seeks Financing for Feature Debut ‘Will You Still Be My Friend’ at Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum 1 minute ago Korea’s IP Playbook Takes the Spotlight at Taiwan Creative Content Fest Forum 4 months ago TAICCA Sets Partnerships With Japan’s K2 Pictures, Taiwan’s Lunta Ventures at Creative Content Fest 4 months ago See All HAF Taiwanese filmmaker Lu Po-Shun, whose short film “Wild Tides” won best director at the 2017 Taipei Film Awards and best film in the international competition at the Tel Aviv Intl. Student Film Festival, is making his feature debut with “Will You Still Be My Friend.” The project is heading to the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) at Hong Kong FilMart after appearing earlier this year at the European Film Market’s Far East in Progress section, which runs concurrently with the Berlinale. Related Stories TV News Scrambles to Cover U.S., Israel Strikes Against Iran: 'Full-Scale Middle East War' 'CBS Mornings' Top Producer Shawna Thomas Will Leave Role as Show Pursues Softer Stance in A.M. (EXCLUSIVE) Set in Yunlin County on Taiwan’s southwest coast, the coming-of-age drama expands on Lu’s earlier short “When Henge Meets Crescent,” which was part of the public broadcaster PTS’ pandemic anthology, “Quarantini”. Popular on Variety After COVID-19 broke out, Lu moved back to his hometown in Kouhu Township, where he began developing the feature-length project. The film weaves together adolescent friendship with the social impact of solar energy development in rural communities. Drawing from field research and personal observations, the story examines the intersection of local politics, corporate interests and environmental change while exploring questions of identity and self-discovery among young characters. “When writing the characters, I often create one who resembles myself and another who represents the person I wish I could become,” Lu said. “Through the dialogue between those two sides — the real self and the ideal self — I’m trying to build a new narrative from memory that connects with the present-day landscape of my hometown.” Lu brought the project to the Ties That Bind Asia-Europe co-production workshop during its early development. Producer David Su said the team’s primary goal at HAF is to secure the final round of financing. The film is currently more than 80% complete and is targeting a domestic release later this year during the Golden Horse Awards season. The story touches on renewable energy expansion and pre-adolescent sexual identity exploration — subjects that can still draw cautious responses in parts of East Asia. “Taiwan has had more than 40 years of gender equality and LGBTQ cultural development,” Lu said. “I believe audiences and the market are mature enough to engage with these topics.” Ahead of FilMart, the project has drawn interest from festival programmers. Although the film does not yet have a global sales partner, Su said the team hopes it will reach the international arthouse circuit and thematic festivals in the future. Jump to Comments Adam Schiff to Hold Hearing on Hollywood Jobs With Noah Wyle and IATSE’s Matt Loeb Inside the Oscars: Execs Explain In Memoriam Omissions, Playing Off ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Winners and Bringing Back Conan O’Brien as Host National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham Eyes Bollywood Talent, India Expansion — and Brings Ayesha Dharker Full Circle in ‘The Jungle Book’ For Trump’s FCC Chairman, Trolling Liberals Is the Point of His Threat to Pull Licenses of TV Networks That Air ‘Fake News’ About Iran War Marion Cotillard and Walton Goggins to Star in ‘Job,’ Reimagining the Biblical Book (EXCLUSIVE) Fremantle Promotes Jimmy Fox to President, Content and Strategy JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...