Veteran producer Bill Kong is bringing four commercial titles to the European Film Market through his Edko Films banner as Hong Kong makes a strong showing at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival with Singapore-Hong Kong-China co-production “Panda” selected for the Forum section.
Kong, whose credits include the Oscar-winning “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and Zhang Yimou’s “Hero,” is presenting two sequels to the “Cold War” franchise — “Cold War 1994” and “Cold War 1995” — both directed by Longman Leung and produced by Kong alongside Ivy Ho. In “Cold War 1994,” M.B. Lee, head of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, becomes embroiled in a high-profile kidnapping case involving a wealthy family. As Lee navigates various circles, including the triads, the city’s elite and the British regime, he discovers that factions within the police force have their own agendas, seeking power, fame and fortune.
“Cold War 1995” picks up the aftermath as the kidnapping case triggers a backlash from the British government, prompting MI6 agents to arrive from London to manage the fallout with the 1997 handover looming and various factions striving to secure their positions.
The films star Daniel Wu and Terrance Lau, with the first installment currently in post-production.
Edko is also showcasing “Night King,” a comedy-drama from “A Guilty Conscience” director Jack Ng, starring Dayo Wong and Sammi Cheng as a divorced couple forced to reunite to save their failing nightclub. Set in 2012, the film follows Club EJ’s manager Foon as the once-glamorous venue undergoes a hostile takeover, with his cutthroat ex-wife Madame V arriving as the new CEO. Determined to modernize and breathe new life into the business, the estranged couple must join forces with the hostesses to make an epic last stand against a powerful conglomerate intent on shutting down Club EJ for good. The film is produced by Kong and Ho.
Rounding out Edko’s EFM lineup is “Unidentified Murder,” a comedy-drama about an influencer couple whose staged prank spirals out of control into real tragedy. A series of accidents, blackmail and extraterrestrial encounters somehow unveil a mysterious child disappearance from 25 years earlier. The film marks the directorial debut of Jack Lee Chun Kit, co-directed with writer-director Kwok Ka Hei, and stars Ling Man Lung, Renci Yeung and Peter Chan Charm Man.
In the festival’s Forum section, “Panda” follows four marginalized individuals wandering through Nanjing along the Yangtze River, grappling with trauma and seeking redemption.
Director Zhang Xinyang, who won Jia Zhangke’s Next Talent Project scholarship in 2019, describes the film as an exploration of “Chineseness” that draws on classical Chinese literature and magical realism. “Society alienates people, but beauty is a means for us to resist alienation,” Zhang says.
The Singapore-Hong Kong co-production is produced by Guo Xiao-Dong, Frank Yung and Shan Yinghao, with Singapore’s Levo Films handling production. The project has had a long development journey, winning best film script at the 2018 Changjiang River Youth Film Festival, best film project at the 2019 Chongqing Youth Film Festival and best pitching at the 2019 HiShorts! Film Festival before winning the Juries’ Choice Award in the work-in-progress section at Shanghai International Film Festival’s Project Market in 2024.
“We are honored to be selected as the only Chinese film in the independent and visionary Berlinale Forum,” says producer Guo. “Zhang Xinyang is a shining star among Chinese post-’95 generation filmmakers.”
Levo Films’ previous productions include “Caro Mio Ben” (“My Dear Beloved”), which screened at the 2017 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival; “The Tree House,” which unspooled at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival; “The Men Who Wait,” which played at the 2021 Berlinale; and “Republic,” which screened at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival.
Shot in black and white and color, “Panda” features a cast including Zhang Xianmin, Elvis Yang, Chen Han, Lyu Jiahe and Zhang Ruyin, with cinematography by Carl Hou.
The Hong Kong presence at EFM also includes Entertaining Power Co.’s “Pass and Goal,” directed by Jil Wong Pak Kei and starring Gigi Leung as a financial consultant who helps train a youth soccer team. The family drama also features Rondi Chan, Sahal Zaman and Chan Charm Man, marking another example of the territory’s diverse genre offerings at the market.