Sex, violence and detention fill the lives of seven high-school boys in HIGH NOON, a tour-de-force from 24-year-old director Heiward Mak. Wing (Lam Yiu-sing) is the new kid at school, and is soon befriended by a group of students known for getting into trouble at every given opportunity.

Punished at school, viewed as trash by society and seeing nothing in the future beyond a pointless, mundane existence, the boys behave with utter irreverence, chasing girls, sniffing drugs, starting fights and even mass-distributing a sex video on the Internet. Soon consequences of their antics catch up with the boys, and will test the only thing they take seriously: their friendship.

Mak, making her feature debut, injects the script with a level of authenticity rarely seen in teen-focused Hong Kong films. With an unknown cast and a keen eye for youth lingo and trends, HIGH NOON is driven by a raw energy, filled with teen angst and a disappointment with an adult world that offers little hope. Through montages, fantasy sequences and a constant sense of heightened reality, Mak boldly chooses a more unconventional style to tell a story that is affecting and powerful, and delivers a stunning film that is, quintessentially, Hong Kong cinema at its best. Mak is undoubtedly a talent to watch, and HIGH NOON is likely going to become the film that defines a generation.