International Premiere | In Competition
Hong Kong, 2026, 128’, Cantonese
Directed by: Herman Yau
Screenplay: Herman Yau
Cinematography (color): Mandy Ngai, Derek Siu
Editing: Lam Wing-lui
Production Design: Fion Li
Music: Mak Chun-hung
Producer: Herman Yau
Cast: Patrick Tam (Leung Ho-lung), Anson Kong (Fai), Ansonbean (Hei), Wong You-nam (Raymond Hui), Kearen Pang (Lung’s wife), Rachel Leung (Ming-yui), Chu Pak-him (John), Thor Lok (Andrew), Ben Yuen (Fai’s father), Amanda Lee (Fai’s mother), Chan Suk-yi (Hei’s father), Baby Bo (Hei’s mother), Stephanie Che (clubber who loses wallet), Ken Lo (café boss), Ellen Liu (Chief Superintendent)
Date of First Release in Territory: April 3rd, 2026
Tales of Hongkongers reaching boiling point drive
We’re Nothing at All, Herman Yau’s unflinching crime drama born out of current moods in his home city. A Valentine’s Day bus explosion opens the picture, which Yau entirely self-funded, before the narrative explores the forces behind the calamity and how quickly they can take root.
The bus bombing prompts the return of retired cop Lung (Patrick Tam), a forensics ace who together with police sidekick Raymond (Wong You-nam) must make sense of the carnage and find clues in debris. Investigation is painstaking, and the tenacious Lung is offered leeway to bend rules as he needs (“Make compromises, get the work done,” says the Chief Superintendent).
As Lung tries to dig out leads, writer-director-producer Yau busies himself cutting to scenes of a particularly troubled relationship. Nightclub worker and budding artist Hei (Anson Kong) hangs out sketching at a basketball court and there he meets Fai (Ansonbean), a morose loner who’s unpaid at a building site and struggling to rent his tiny flat in an industrial building. The two men bond and become an item, only to face intolerance and trying times.
The main narrative threads of
We’re Nothing at All start to cross, and through everything runs a disturbing picture of contemporary Hong Kong. Here’s a city where one suicide attempt disturbs another, and where a modern, seemingly liberal image masks pervasive conservatism. Workers’ rights have weak protections, minor protests spur ID checks, and even organic tourist attractions on the street get shut down in favour of a widely ridiculed “Night Vibes” campaign. Throw in tragic family backgrounds for the young lovers, and Yau’s film depicts a tinderbox in the making.
That’s all strong stuff, and seeing the biting social detail in an ambitious thriller makes
We’re Nothing at All an extraordinary independent production. The film’s LGBTQ elements are intimate and sympathetic, and the raw performances required of Anson Kong and Ansonbean had them step away from their pop-idol personas. Screen veteran Patrick Tam takes a daring role too, with Lung making the sensitive point that even those in the disciplined services aren’t immune from radicalisation.
If you’ve read down to here, you may be wondering if
We’re Nothing at All is all dire and downbeat. In fact, it’s not. A master of crossing genre entertainment and social consciousness (recall how local grievance led to a tunnel bomb drama in the great
Shock Wave), Yau makes room for hope in his latest work. One person’s escalation towards violence is stopped by compassion and forgiveness, a remote safe space offers respite, and even in dark times there may still be loved ones to stand beside.
We’re Nothing at All’s wrenching study of discontent and rage captures the troubled atmosphere in today’s Hong Kong, and even as we note motives for violence we’re reminded, too, of the need for respect and understanding.
Herman Yau
Born in Hong Kong in 1961, Herman Yau majored in film at Hong Kong Baptist College, graduating in 1984. Yau directed his first feature, No Regret, in 1987 and since then has had a prolific and diverse career in film, TV, music videos and publishing. In addition to co-founding several cultural newspapers and magazines, Yau has also been a regular columnist and has self-published books. Best known internationally as a director of exploitation and genre features in addition to socially conscious works, Yau has also been active as a director of photography and producer.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
1987 – No Regret
1993 – The Untold Story
1997 – Walk In
1998 – Troublesome Night 3
2001 – From the Queen
to the Chief Executive
2007 – Whispers and Moans
2017 – Shock Wave
2019 – The White Storm 2: Drug Lords
2020 – Shock Wave 2
2026 – We’re Nothing at All