Apostles
The exploration of death.
A noted scholar claiming to be an apostle to Socrates and Plato finds it hard to face his eventual ending. With the accomplices of his wife and his ex-woman’s family, he recruits 12 young men into his secluded manor to pursue a project which encompasses; bondage, sex acts, even living sacrifice.
Philosophical discussion abound throughout the film making it a thrilling experience.
The story leaves everybody involved with life changing revelations.
Running Time: 82mins
Written, Produced & Directed by SCUD
Cinematography By Meteor Cheung (HKSC) / Production Design by Irving Cheung / Music by Yu Yat Yiu / Edited by GJames Cheung
Main Cast
Adonis He/Amanda Lee/ Adrian Heung/ Bank Chuang/ Canto Zhou/ Christopher Tsang/ Jay-Todd Chih/ Katashi Yugo/ Lew Voon Khong/ Owen Wu/ Qiji Chen/ Teslin/ Wei Kai Huang/ William Lo/ Jach Chow/ Moe Chin/ Tank Liu/ Gavin Che
- 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam – Official Selection and Focus Director
- 9th Taiwan International Queer Film Festival – Official Selection
- 33rdHong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival – Official Selection and Focus Director
- Reeling: The 40thChicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival – Official Selection
“Once again drawing from a very personal place, Scud’s eighth film Apostles does away with a certain kind of nostalgia. As in Voyage (2012), Utopians (2016) and Thirty Years of Adonis (2017), Apostles reaches into the deep and dark crevices of the human mind to reflect on the meaning and value of life by exploring death and what comes after. Claiming to be an apostle of Socrates and Plato, a scholar forms a cult-like circuit of twelve beautiful young men in a secluded estate to pursue this quandary.
With a narrative organised more like a stream of fragmentary visual statements and thoughts, shuffling past, present and future, Apostles gnaws on religions, the concept of karma, ghosts and the afterlife – all of which also enter the game. Nude young men wander the estate, climb mountains, lose themselves in the woods, talk and participate in various rituals and mythic re-enactments that constitute a physical, emotional and sexual journey. In the end, the group must decide which apostle will get to experience death in the form of sacrifice. Herein the film steers true to its alternative title: ‘Platonic Death’, and to Scud’s appetite for subversive, disturbing and still serenely beautiful films.
– kijA”
Information Sources: IFFR 2024
More：Amanda Lee / Huang Wei Kai / Teslin / Bank Chuang / William Lo / Adrian Heung / Katashi / Owen Wu / Lew Voon Khong / Tank Liu / Derek Lai / Adonis He / Moe Chin / Simon Tam / Karen Huang / Michael Kutza / Eric East
