Shreyom Ghosh’s “The Vampire of Sheung Shui” is exclusive in that it’s a Hong Kong-set horror-comedy with a protagonist of Indian origin.

It has been chosen for the twenty second Hong Kong — Asia Movie Financing Discussion board (HAF), the undertaking market that operates concurrently with FilMart.

Written by D.F.W. Buckingham (“Discovering Love in Sisters”), the movie will observe Lokesh, a slacker in his 30s, dwelling with orthodox Jain dad and mom in a sleepy Hong Kong suburb, ready to take over the household jewelry retailer and transfer to the U.Ok. after promoting it. When his father proclaims his retirement, Lokesh should present that he could be accountable and cling to the values of his household’s traditions or lose the shop to his annoying cousin. The issue is that Lokesh is popping right into a bloodthirsty vampire. Now he should discover a technique to survive on blood with out hurting folks, whereas additionally proving to his household that he’s not a complete leech.

Ghosh, a graduate of the NYU Tisch Faculty of the Arts, created and directed Hooq comedy-drama collection “Bhak” (2019) and made animated brief “Vegetable Rising” (2022).

“It began as a joke about an Indian vegan man reworking right into a vampire. It was humorous for us since vampires and the actual neighborhood of Indians we needed to indicate — the Jains — have one factor in widespread — a repulsion to garlic. We began pitching this concept round and seeing the response of individuals from completely different corners the world, we realized the common attraction of our thought which culminated right into a vampire movie from an Indian viewpoint. This made us transfer ahead into growing it additional into a movie that may be equally humorous and horrifying however, most significantly, relatable and entertaining,” Ghosh advised Selection.

“We reside in a world the place proper and fallacious are subjective. Our wavering ethical compass can justify any violence until somebody near us will get damage. That is the crux of our movie, which is embodied by our protagonist. He has no different selection however to drink blood to outlive however is surrounded by characters who thrive on sucking life out of others. He’ll notice that though morality is subjective, one should take duty for his or her actions and be taught what it means to sacrifice for the sake of others. At its core, ‘The Vampire of Sheung Shui’ is a late coming-of-age story about taking cost of your life and a celebration of Hong Kong’s variety whereby essentially the most harmful character is unquestionably not the vampire,” Ghosh added.

The movie is being produced by trade veteran Michael J. Werner, former co-head of Fortissimo Movies, who has produced and distributed quite a few Asian titles, together with Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster” (2013), Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow” (2018) and Ray Yeung’s “Suk Suk” (2019); Peter Yam, producer of “The Sunny Facet of the Avenue,” winner of three Golden Horse Awards, and Ghosh.

“The viewers for the movie are vampire and genre-film aficionados each right here in Hong Kong and across the globe who will recognize this recent method to an typically advised however effectively appreciated horror story,” Werner advised Selection.

The English, Cantonese and Hindi-language undertaking is budgeted at $1.2 million. “Now we have raised adequate funds to cowl growth and the primary phases of pre-production, however with robust indications of curiosity from funders and doable traders from a number of key markets adequate to cowl a significant proportion of the funds,” Werner stated.

“We’re searching for worldwide co-production and financier companions on this pilgrimage, [while] our HAF scheduled conferences have proven promise, we anticipate nothing however vibrant exploration with trade delegates across the globe,” Yam added.

Manufacturing corporations on the undertaking are Tasia Movies and 70 Plus Manufacturing Firm.