“Wake Me Up When the Mourning Ends,” the sophomore feature from Malaysian-born, Hong Kong–based director Lau Kok Rui, is being presented at Busan’s Asian Project Market with heavyweight producing support.
The film is produced by Wong Kew Soon, Stefano Centini, Lai Weijie, Bianca Balbuena-Liew, Bradley Liew, and Hong Kong filmmaker Soi Cheang, director of “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” which premiered out of competition at Cannes 2024 and became one of Hong Kong’s biggest box office hits.
The multinational structure, spanning Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy and Taiwan, underscores the ambition behind Lau’s latest work. The drama centers on the three-year mourning ritual rooted in Chinese tradition, still practiced in Malaysia but increasingly rare elsewhere.
Lau says the film is inspired both by cultural memory and personal experience. “As a Malaysian who has spent years living abroad, my returns home are almost tied to celebrations or mourning — and mourning rituals have become a recurring presence in my life,” he says. “The three-year mourning ceremony is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture, yet it’s increasingly rare to witness outside of Malaysia today. What fascinated me about this ritual is its unique temporal position — two or three years after death, when the immediate grief has subsided, yet the impact of loss continues to ripple through the family dynamic.”
The story follows Yan, whose fiancé Hung died before their wedding and before the birth of their son, Thomas. Three years later, Yan returns with two-year-old Thomas to Hung’s hometown for the ritual that marks the end of mourning. She is forbidden to join the ceremony by Choo, Hung’s mother, who insists only a married spouse can participate. Yan struggles with her exclusion, eventually declaring she is engaged to someone else. But in the climactic ceremony, Yan appears in mourning attire, insisting on joining the ritual as Hung’s wife. For Yan, the act is not about acceptance from Choo, but about taking part in Hung’s final journey in this world.
For Lau, who won the Golden Horse award for best new director with his debut “The Sunny Side of the Street,” the project is also a personal homecoming. “I left home at 18 to study and work in Hong Kong, so my entire cinematic education and creative experience were built there. After completing my first feature in Hong Kong, I made the deliberate decision to return to Malaysia for my second film,” he says. “I want to bring the perspectives and collaborative energy I witnessed in Hong Kong back to Malaysia, while simultaneously introducing Hong Kong’s film community to the incredible talent and stories emerging here.”
Producer Wong Kew Soon says he was drawn to the script’s intimate focus. “Director Lau’s film explores a family narrative full of tension and struggle, which aligns closely with my creative interests and professional background,” he notes. “Through my experience in capturing nuanced observations of human nature in documentaries, I hope to bring authenticity and emotional depth to the storytelling, complementing Director Lau’s artistic vision.”
Centini, whose credits span Asia and Europe, adds that the co-production structure is integral to the film’s goals. “Kok Rui’s debut feature ‘The Sunny Side of the Street’ premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival and swiped awards at the Golden Horse in Taiwan and the Hong Kong Film Awards. For his sophomore film, we want to accompany the director since the beginning and develop a project that through the participation of international talents has the ambition to aim for a strong release both inside and outside Asia,” he says.
Casting will play a major role in financing and positioning. “For ‘Wake Me Up When the Mourning Ends,’ we are looking to recreate the same pattern with a strong cast that can work both locally in Asia and internationally, pairing it with talents behind the screen that can elevate the cinematic quality to interact with international audiences,” Centini says.
At APM, the producers are seeking funding, sales agents, distributors, and international collaborators. “We are looking for partners that can understand our way of filmmaking and are interested to create a unique filmic experience by putting together the right cast and crew,” Centini adds.