MELODIES OF THE ABYSS
The feature film produced and invested in by Hotshot Film was successfully shot in Ballarat, Australia, in April 2025. The film is directed by Sam Iwata, an award-winning filmmaker recognized by the World Film Festival – Houston International Film Festival. Wei HaiHan, the founder of Hotshot Film, participated in the production of this film as the Executive Producer.
The film is currently being submitted to and selected by major international film festivals worldwide. As of January 2025, the film has already received the following honors:
🏆MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (2024) - IMDb
🏆FINALIST (SCREENPLAY CONTEST) -(Finalist)
🏆SHOCKFEST FILM FESTIVAL (2024) - IMDb
🏆OFFICIAL SELECTION (SCREENPLAY CONTEST) -(Official Selection)
🏆TITAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2025) - IMDb
🏆 WINNER - BEST ACTRESS - (Winner)
🏆NIGHT OF SHORTS (2025) - IMDb
🏆HONORABLE MENTION - BEST PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER - ( Honorable Mention)
🏆 STOCKHOLM CITY FILM FESTIVAL (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST ACTOR -(Winner)
🏆SYDNEY LIFE-OFF FILM FESTIVAL (2025) -IMDb
🏆OFFICIAL SELECTION - (Official Selection)
🏆ROME PRISMA FILM AWARDS (2025)
🏆OFFICIAL SELECTION -(Official Selection)
🏆BERLIN SHORTS AWARD (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST THRILLER SHORTS + BEST MAKE-UP -(Winner)
🏆MOON ARTS FILM FESTIVAL (2025)
🏆WINNER - BEST ACTRESS -(Winner)
🏆THRILLER / SUSPENSE FESTIVAL (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST SUPERNATURAL FILM -(Winner)
🏆VIENNA INDIE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (2025)
🏆WINNER - BEST DIRECTOR -(Winner)
🏆DALLAS SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST THRILLER SHORT -(Winner)
🏆SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL MOVIE AWARDS (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST DIRECTOR -(Winner)
🏆PARIS INTERNATIONAL SHORT FESTIVAL (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE -(Winner)
🏆INDIE SHORT FEST (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST THRILLER SHORT + BEST ACTRESS - (Winner)
🏆FILM REVOLUTION FEST (2025) - IMDb
🏆SEMI-FINALIST - BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY + PRODUCTION DESIGN - (Semi-Finalist)
🏆FILM REVOLUTION FEST (2025) - IMDb
🏆NOMINEE - BEST PICTURE + BEST MEDIUM LENGTH FILM + BEST DIRECTING + BEST ACTOR - (Nominee)
🏆FILM REVOLUTION FEST (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY + BEST ACTRESS -(Winner)
🏆WORLD FILM FESTIVAL IN CANNES (2025) - IMDb
🏆NOMINEE - BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - (Nominee)
🏆WORLD FILM FESTIVAL IN CANNES (2025) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST INDIE SHORT + BEST ACTOR -(Winner)
🏆DARK LAND FILMS (2026) - IMDb
🏆NOMINEE - BEST PICTURE + BEST MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM -(Winner)
🏆DARK LAND FILMS (2026) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST THRILLER + BEST ACTRESS PERFORMANCE -(Winner)
🏆INDIEX FILM FEST (2026) - IMDb
🏆NOMINEE - BEST PICTURE + BEST MALE DIRECTOR + BEST ACTOR + BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN -(Winner)
🏆INDIEX FILM FEST (2026) - IMDb
🏆WINNER - BEST THRILLER SHORT + BEST ACTRESS -(Winner)
🏆INDEPENDENT SHORTS AWARDS - IMDb
🏆OFFICIAL SELECTION - (Official Selection)
Project History
2021
2015
The film "The Superpower Incident" tells the story of a group of young people who accidentally acquire superpowers and the experiences they have in their lives after undergoing changes in themselves. To enable the audience to experience these "hard-won" superpowers more authentically, the film employs more realistic shooting techniques to enhance the immersion and authenticity of the film's special effects shots. Director Choi Soo-young said, "Most of the shots in the film employed relatively difficult shooting techniques, with the aim of enhancing the authenticity of the film and better arousing the curiosity of the audience." At the same time, it also enables those teenagers who once had fantasies about superpowers to resonate with their previous fantasies about superpowers through such a realistic and restored lens, and to fully enjoy the thrill of superpowers.
A jaded detective is hired to solve a case on a missing composer, which leads to a suspenseful 'road trip' to discover a mysterious music score that carries massive destruction power is about to go off.
2012
“Looper” is a science fiction action film written and directed by American Hollywood director Rian Johnson, released in 2012, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt.
Max Wei participated in the Chinese production team, primarily responsible for on-set coordination and cross-department management during the shoot. Being part of this project was a highly challenging and rewarding experience for him.
Looper tells the story of a future world where criminal organizations use illegal time-travel technology to send people back in time, where they are executed by specialized assassins known as “Loopers.” But when the protagonist Joe (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) discovers that his next target is his older self (played by Bruce Willis), everything spirals out of control.
Parts of the film were shot in Shanghai and surrounding areas in China, and the movie is considered one of the early examples of Hollywood exploring collaborative production models with the Chinese market.
