25th New York Asian Film Festival

July 10-26, 2026

FilmsGuestsTalks & EventsSchedule & Tickets
North American Premiere

Cyclone

超風

Philip Yung followed the crime lyricism of Port of Call (NYAFF 2015) with the heartbreaking Papa, garnering eleven Hong Kong Film Award nominations. Now comes his boldest work yet, chosen to close the 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival. Taking its title from Mei Chaofeng, the fierce wanderer of wuxia legend, Cyclone follows a young trans woman who leaves mainland China for Hong Kong, and falls in love while working to save for gender-affirming surgery and reckoning with a traumatic past. In the city’s back alleys and transient rooms, she falls in with Ah Bian, whose affection comes tangled with damage and drug use, and Xiaomei, who lets her glimpse another way of being a woman. Yung turns exile, desire, and self-remaking into a bruised Hong Kong nocturne.

Director: Philip Yung
Producer: Effy Sun
Screenwriters: Philip Yung, Thomas Leung, Carmen Hau, Annabelle Kayee Li
Cast: Yuqiao Liu, Edwynn Li, Jenny Suen
Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin with English Subtitles
2026; 119 min.; DCP
Country: Hong Kong

SCHEDULE:

Wednesday July 22, 8:45pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Intro and Q&A with director Philip Yung, actress Liu Yuqiao and screenwriter Annabelle Kayee Li

Annabelle Kayee Li

Annabelle Li is a Hong Kong-based writer, actress, LGBTQ+ community organizer, and counsellor-in-training. She works at the intersection of gender, mental health, and community through advocacy, education, research, and peer support. As the scriptwriter, character consultant, intimacy coordinator, and actress for Cyclone, she draws on lived experience and years of community work to bring authenticity and emotional nuance to the film. Annabelle frequently lectures on gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ mental health, and is currently completing a Master's degree in Counselling at The University of Hong Kong, where her research focuses on transgender mental health and help-seeking in East Asian contexts.

Philip Yung
翁子光

Philip Yung is a Hong Kong director, screenwriter, and producer best known for Port of Call (NYAFF 2015), Hong Kong’s entry for the 89th Academy Awards, and Where the Wind Blows (2023). His feature film Papa (2024; NYAFF 2025) earned three awards at the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best New Performer. In addition to directing, Yung has worked extensively as a producer and screenwriter on acclaimed films such as Rigor Mortis (2013) and The Sparring Partner (2022). He returns to NYAFF with his latest feature, Cyclone following its World Premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and its Closing Film screening at the Hong Kong International FF.