Singapore-based Mokster Films and Lester Hsi’s Taiwan-based D-Day Pictures are jointly producing Taiwanese horror film Revive, a project exploring the intersection between grief, technology and the unknown.
Mokster Films is also handling international sales on the project, directed by emerging filmmaker Danny Tseng, and will introduce it to buyers in Cannes.
The project marks the second collaboration between Mokster Films and D-Day following Phantom, an invisible man horror announced at last year’s Cannes and now in post-production, with producers Lester Hsi, Fiona Hu and Nelson Mok reuniting on the film. Hsi is a leading director-producer in Taiwan, whose debut feature The Bridge Curse became a breakout box office hit in 2020.
Revive will be the live action feature debut of award-winning short filmmaker Tseng, who is known for his distinctive visual language and innovative approach to storytelling. His short film Torii won Second Place at The Dor Awards, while his other shorts, including Dear Grandma, Graveyard and Water, received multiple accolades across international competitions including Project Odyssey and Curious Refuge.
Blending horror with Eastern spiritual beliefs, Revive follows a struggling artist who returns home after her estranged mother’s death and turns to ‘REVIVE’, an advanced funerary service that restores the deceased.
As her life is reshaped under its influence – reviving her stalled career while quietly eroding her sense of self – the bereaved artist is confronted by a series of unexplained tragedies that force her to question whether the presence guiding her life is truly her mother at all.
The project has already won awards at Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) and Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP) and is scheduled to start production in Taiwan at the end of the year.
“With Revive, we wanted to explore how technology reshapes our relationship with memory and loss – and how dependence on it can delay acceptance, distorting reality and allowing something far more dangerous to take hold,” said producer Fiona Hu.
Tseng added: “I began my journey making short films and new technologies opened doors for my work to be seen and recognized at international competitions. Now, as I move into theatrical feature filmmaking, I’m driven by the desire to bring my stories to the big screen and connect with audiences in cinemas.”
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