The film was the debut directorial effort of Wong Chun, and the project was funded by the “First Feature Film Initiative” of the Hong Kong Film Development Fund.


Hong Kong has selected first-time director Wong Chun's Mad World for the foreign-language film category at the 90th Academy Awards.

The drama, which explores mental illness and the lack of living space in modern metropolises, was a winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards earlier this year. The film boasts the award-winning performances from veteran actors Elaine Jin and Eric Tsang.

The project was particularly a local success as it was funded by the “First Feature Film Initiative” of the Hong Kong Film Development Fund.

Mad World tells the story of a bipolar patient’s attempt to adapt to life in a small sub-divided flat with his father after being discharged from a mental hospital. An examination of the psychological hurdles a lead character was faced with, the film was also a critique of crowdedness and the oftentimes illegal phenomenon of sub-divided flats that has become a social issue in Hong Kong.

Mad World was selected ahead of a strong field that included Chasing the Dragon by Wong Jing and Jason Kwan, the Wong Kar-wai-produced See You Tomorrow and Soul Mate by Derek Tsang.


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