Deadline
In Kiwi Chao’s drama-thriller, an elite academy drives students to pills, rebellion, and a suicide ultimatum—exposing an authority-soaked system through stunning visuals and standout young performances.
Producer Peiyi Lin scheduled to attend.
Tickets
Select showtime for pricing and tickets.
Friday, May 8, 2026
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Sunday, May 10, 2026
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
An emotionally complex film about an education system infused with authority, rebellion, obedience and suicide, produced by Hong Kong director and screenwriter Kiwi Chao. The film was banned in Hong Kong due to his previous anti-government films. A strict and expensive private academy trains future leaders. All students suffer from the relentless studying and testing that gain them a place in successful future jobs. Teachers and parents push the kids to not only exhaustion but use pills to keep them awake to study. Finally, a student promises suicide if final exams are not cancelled. The film poses a sharp criticism of the elite education systems found in several Asian nations. The film is well photographed in a severely futuristic school campus and features very good acting by several young students.
The school's Principal Kung is an emotional and torn leader, played by the famous actor Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, whose many award-winning roles as gangster or police superintendent in Hong Kong and Taiwan films, include the famous Infernal Affairs trilogy. Director Kiwi Chao, who himself struggled as a student in a strict school, hopes that Deadline can spread the power of compassion—"for the next generation."
—Mayumi Tsutakawa
- Director: Kiwi Chow
- Principal Cast: Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Allison Lin, Jimmy Liu, Yi-Mei Shao, Run-Yin Bai, Michael Chang
- Premiere Status: North American
- Country: Taiwan, Hong Kong, United Kingdom
- Year: 2026
- Running Time: 118 min.
- Producer: Peiyi Lin, Frankie Chung, Kiwi Chow
- Screenplay: Felix Tsang, Frankie Chung, Kiwi Chow
- Cinematographers: Szeto Yat Lui
- Editors: Allen Leung
- Music: Lu-Ming Lu
- Filmography: Revolution of Our Times (doc, 2021), Beyond the Dream (2019), Ten Years (co-director, 2015), A Complicated Story (2013)
- Language: Mandarin
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- International Sales: Benchmark Films Co., Ltd.