We Are Born Good

Leung Chuen Yeung

Drama

In cinemas 6w later · Theatrical Oct 29, 2026 (HK)

★ Shortlisted by Sharon

Programme: Discovery
Year: 2026
Runtime: 96 min
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Chinese
Premiere: World Premiere
In cinemas: Oct 29, 2026 (HK)

A dining mishap caused a rift between Ji and Rui, leading to a cycle of revenge. Their already troubled lives only came together to fall apart.

From the TIFF programme

Golden Horse winner Suet Ying Chung and Wai Lun Yeung lead Leung Chuen Yeung’s assured debut, in which a struggling actress and an ex-con restaurant owner turn a petty dispute into an unlikely bond. Witty, moving, and accessible.

A botched takeaway order detonates into a battle of wills in We Are Born Good, the assured feature debut of Hong Kong filmmaker Leung Chuen Yeung, developed through the Hong Kong government film-funding programme, First Feature Film Initiative.

Suet Ying Chung plays an aspiring actress, crushed by debt and disappointment. When a neighbourhood restaurant gets her order wrong and refuses to remake it at closing time, she decides to retaliate. The owner (Wai Lun Yeung), recently released from prison and struggling to rebuild his life, is equally close to his breaking point. Their escalating feud pushes both further into chaos before hostility gives way to an unexpected connection.

Inspired by a viral CCTV clip of a trivial street dispute erupting into violence, Yeung looks beyond the spectacle to ask what pressures had already brought its participants to the brink. The film’s contemporary Hong Kong is a city where money, work, family obligation, and social judgment leave people living on the edge. Its title reflects a compassionate conviction: these characters are not inherently bad, but worn down by grief, anger, and exhaustion.

An accomplished screenwriter, Yeung handles tone and narrative momentum with confidence, while veteran producer Patricia Cheng brings experience to a debut that remains highly personal and original.

The performances are a major strength. Golden Horse winner Chung brings humour, volatility, and vulnerability to her role, while Yeung makes the ex-convict’s defensiveness inseparable from his sadness. Entertaining, emotionally perceptive, and polished throughout, We Are Born Good establishes Leung Chuen Yeung as an exciting emerging filmmaker in East Asian cinema.

GIOVANNA FULVI