Hungry Ghost Diner

  • 116'
  • Malaysia
  • 2023

After her long-unseen uncle mysteriously turns up one night at her food truck in Kuala Lumpur, Bonnie drives home to her semi-estranged father in a village up north. With a sudden lockdown preventing her return, she is forced to spend the night at the family-owned café, where she encounters the ghosts of those dearly departed gathering around for a scrumptious meal. 

The dead and the living are connected through their stomachs in We Jun Cho’s heartwarming food-centric dramedy, Hungry Ghost Diner, set among the Malaysian Chinese community during the weeks preceding the Hungry Ghost Festival. The film finds a unique tone for its subject, poised between bittersweet family drama, surreal fantasy and matter-of-fact horror, but always leaning on the side of levity. This is a work in which musical numbers rub shoulders with resplendent puppet shows and stately religious ceremonies.

With its vibrant, expressive cinematography, propulsive score and an endearing, doe-eyed lead performance by singer Keat Yoke Chen, Hungry Ghost Diner tells an entertaining and universal story of reconnecting with one’s family.

– Srikanth Srinivasan

  • 116'
  • Malaysia
  • 2023
Director
We Jun Cho
Premiere
Dutch Premiere
Country of production
Malaysia
Year
2023
Festival Edition
IFFR 2024
Length
116'
Medium
DCP
Original title
饿鬼食堂
Languages
Cantonese, Malay, Hakka
Producers
Benji Lim, Yve Vonn Lee
Production Company
Kinovisuals
Sales
Kinovisuals
Screenplay
We Jun Cho
Cinematography
Teck Tan
Editor
Rou Ning Teh
Production Design
Robin Nevis
Sound Design
Ashwin Gobinath
Music
Eng Hooi Teoh
Cast
Keat Yoke Chen, Sam Chong Yun Wah, Eric Chen Puie Kong, Rabbit Chen Puie Heng, Fabian Loo, Joyce Hon
Director
We Jun Cho
Premiere
Dutch Premiere
Country of production
Malaysia
Year
2023
Festival Edition
IFFR 2024
Length
116'
Medium
DCP
Original title
饿鬼食堂
Languages
Cantonese, Malay, Hakka
Producers
Benji Lim, Yve Vonn Lee
Production Company
Kinovisuals
Sales
Kinovisuals
Screenplay
We Jun Cho
Cinematography
Teck Tan
Editor
Rou Ning Teh
Production Design
Robin Nevis
Sound Design
Ashwin Gobinath
Music
Eng Hooi Teoh
Cast
Keat Yoke Chen, Sam Chong Yun Wah, Eric Chen Puie Kong, Rabbit Chen Puie Heng, Fabian Loo, Joyce Hon