Certificate of Distinction - Youth Performance - Alvin Hui
Short Film AFIN 331
WHEN THE PETALS FALL
Directed by 
Ka Hin Tsoi
AFIN 2025 Nominee · 2 nominations
- 2025
- 33m
-
Hong Kong - Yue Chinese (Cantonese)
- G
Stills
4 frames
Part of this film's cast or crew? Let us know to add or correct credits, genres or details. Filmmaker sign-in opens with the claim email at Awards Night, 19 September 2026.
Credits
Produced by
Starring
Synopsis
Tang, an elderly man who uses his Buddhist faith to suppress his pedophilia, accidentally breaks a Buddha statue one day when a sudden news emerges. His neighbor Chun, who is a child neglected by his mother, seeks help from Tang and dines at Tang’s home where he uncovers the deep secrets within Tang. Chun's request to stay the night puts Tang in a moral dilemma. How will the two spend the night together?
Director's Statement
Director’s Statement: Hon Lai Chu writes in Darkness Under The Sun: “Before birth, no life can choose which species it will become. A large part of fate cannot be changed, only endured.” People tend to reject and fear those who are different from themselves, and pedophilia is one such example. Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac also suggests that perhaps what people see are only the criminal pedophiles, while many unseen others are those who cannot choose their fate and must suppress their desires. People cannot choose their desires or identities, but good and evil can be a choice. The concept of When the Petals Fall stems from this realization, exploring the suppression of desires, loneliness, and the yearning for love among these marginalized outsiders. The story does not aim to glorify pedophilia or address its social issues; rather, it focuses on how we confront our most shameful and ugly desires, and how we choose kindness within an unchangeable fate.
What makes this one special
- Nominated in 2 AFIN categoriesBest Student Short Film · Best Youth Performance
- One of just 3 films from Hong Kong across eight seasons
- A first-time filmmaker
- A student film
From the Judges
From the Judges
A confronting piece that takes on difficult, adult themes with genuine nerve, this short builds a tense, unsettling atmosphere out of precise, carefully composed production design. They responded warmly to its originality and to a remarkable young lead whose performance anchors the whole piece.
Director's Biography
Ka Hin Tsoi Director
Henry Tsoi is a film graduate from Hong Kong Baptist University, one of the ten newly emerging screenwriters from HKECCA ‘Movie Makers Screenwriters Scheme’, a short film programmer at Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. He is passionate about turning daily life into writing and stories. His stories surround the alienated minorities and tend to be written with a realistic style.
Official laurels
Each recognition carries a permanent, verifiable AFIN credential - a link a filmmaker can put on a CV - plus a downloadable laurel for posters and press kits.
Nominee toolkit
Everything you need to share and credit this recognition.
Ready-made announcement
Copy this for your socials, newsletter or press kit.
WHEN THE PETALS FALL was an official Nominee for Best Student Short Film and Best Youth Performance at the AFIN International Film Festival 2025, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
Add it to IMDb
IMDb adds festival awards from the festival's event page, not from your film's page.
- Open the AFIN International Film Festival event page on IMDb and choose the 2025 edition.
- Choose Edit (contribute), then Awards, and add your film under the category (Best Student Short Film and Best Youth Performance) with the outcome shown on your laurels above.
- Submit. IMDb reviews it and publishes it to the event page and to your film's page.