Hong Kong Directors Seek Global Partners for Action-Disaster Hybrid ‘Open Fire’

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran Veteran filmmaking duo Sze Pak-lam and Lau Wing-tai are expanding their horizons with “Open Fire,” an ambitious $16.4 million action thriller that blends Hong Kong crime cinema with large-scale disaster elements.

The project is selected for the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with Hong Kong FilMart.

The project, produced by industry veteran Ivan Wong, centers on a veteran firefighter caught between armed terrorists and Interpol agents during a slum blaze.

With his wife trapped in the inferno, the protagonist must navigate competing priorities between saving lives and preventing a terrorist attack. “When we explored the combination of crime-action and fire disasters, we immediately saw the potential for exciting chemistry,” the directors said. “Firefighters could be targeted by terrorists while performing rescues, and detectives could be engulfed in flames while pursuing criminals.” The filmmakers, who have collaborated for over 15 years, previously co-directed “Guilt by Design” (2019), which starred Nick Cheung and was produced by Derek Yee.