LIVES OF THE KILLERS

Crime, Action, NEo Noir | In development

LANGUAGE: CHINESE, Korean, Japanese | 110 MIN

A visceral female-driven action drama about sisterhood, redemption,

and the cost of escaping a life built on blood.

SYNOPSIS

After the sudden death of the leader of assassin group M, the remaining four members — killer XO, sniper Michelin, driver D, and cleaner Lian — are forced to navigate life on their own as the group dissolves. Just as they begin to seek new paths for survival, a ruthless new faction led by the formidable Madam Jiang, known as Group J, rises to power, breaking all the unspoken rules of the underworld. Caught between the past and the uncertain future, the former members of M must not only confront their personal choices but also uncover the truth behind their leader’s mysterious death.

 

After the mysterious death of their leader, the four surviving members of assassin group M—XO, Michelin, D, and Lian—struggle to build new lives. But when a brutal new syndicate, led by the enigmatic Madam Jiang, begins to rewrite the rules of the underworld, they’re forced back into action. To survive, they must confront their past—and each other.

 

DIRECTOR BIO – Norris Wong

Norris Wong is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and lyricist. She won the Best New Director award at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards for her debut feature film My Prince Edward, which was also nominated for Best New Director at the Golden Horse Awards. Wong adapted her own work into the film The Lyricist Wannabe, which was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 60th Golden Horse Awards. She also wrote the lyrics for the film’s theme song “Lyricist’s Spirit,” which won Best Original Film Song at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards.

DIRECTOR statement

Since the 1980s, when I was born, Hong Kong cinema has been renowned worldwide for its action and crime films. Though back then, the film industry was dominated by male creators, I cannot deny that these genre films provided entertainment as I grew up and served as material that nourished my creativity. In the past decade, the space for Asian female creators has significantly increased, offering more opportunities to express personal emotions and humanity perspectives. Gradually, a trend has formed: romantic and art films with lower production budgets were expected from female directors, while those plot-driven genre films such as Sci-Fi and action films are often expected to be handled by male directors. This makes me wonder, can female creators hold a place in the market for entertainment films? What would an emotionally rich, character-driven action film look like? “Lives of the Killers” will fill this long-missing piece in film history.

Even though gender equality has been a hot topic in recent years, there are still some gender stereotypes that are still ingrained in our subconscious, such as otaku who are better in science and engineering, female drivers who must have bad driving skills, girls who are more fragile in their affection, and righteousness who is the patent of men. “Lives of the Killers” attempts to subvert and challenge these stereotypes of women, by designing four female characters including the protogynous, XO, a killer who is accustomed to short knife and close combat, Michelin, a sniper who is good at long-range shooting, D, a driver with the best driving skills, and Lian, a chemical expert who is responsible for the aftermath. They have known each other since they were teenagers, experienced ups and downs together, and in addition to the tacit understanding between colleagues, there is also a deep and delicate friendship in private. 

What’s special about ” Lives of the Killers ” is that while rehabilitating female characters, they also actively face their own weaknesses. The challenges faced by women in the reality, the struggle between pregnant riders in family positions and careers, appearance anxiety of the obese snipers, and how should a woman look at herself under the society’s requirements for “feminine temperament” …

Different from Hong Kong classic action-crime films, ” Lives of the Killers ” is set in a fictional dystopian Asian city, aiming to build a more bold and innovative tone in terms of visual style based on traditional and mature martial arts and car chasing design. In the past, genre films that emphasized visual effects and action design often less attention to the characters design or characters emotions and relations. My strengths of screenplay writing would certainly add value to this never-before-seen action movie with a sincere narrative.