Mother of Buffalo

Directed by: Luis Tapia

Stage:
- Post Production
Location:
- Hong Kong SAR China
Updated: June 7, 2026
Project Type:
- Feature
Project Style:
- Observational,
- Personal
Theme Subject:

Logline

As unchecked development encroaches on their once-protected home, a unique herd of wild water buffalo in Hong Kong faces an uncertain future. One woman fights to secure it.

Synopsis

...

Mother of Buffalo is a documentary film following one woman’s daily, years-long struggle to protect a dwindling population of wild water buffalo on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island.

In 2008 a water buffalo limped into Jean Leung's garden with a badly broken leg--he'd been hit by a bus. She named him Ngau Ngau ("Cow Cow") and nursed him back to health herself. When he recovered she vowed to look after him forever, and not long after she began tending to all of the 100+ water buffalo scattered across Lantau. Every day for 18 years, she has looked after her beloved buffalo children. But time is running out and this may be the final generation. Jean’s lone mission is to ensure their future. She faces strong and growing headwinds: a government sterilization campaign and unchecked development of their once-protected habitat place the buffalo in a precarious situation. Yet the buffalo, and hope, remain. Jean has vowed to fight to the end.

It’s a story of perseverance, of the connection and conflict between humans and nature, and of a rarely-seen side of Hong Kong amidst transformative change.

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Stills

Team

Luis Tapia

Director

Team

Luis Tapia

Director

Luis Arturo Tapia is a director, cinematographer, and producer. Born in Mexico and raised in Texas, he was based in Shanghai/Hong Kong from 2002-2022. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas and is available worldwide. Luis has directed, produced, and/or shot commercial work for more than 100 global brands and broadcast networks. Some highlights include The Amazing Race: China Rush, BBC documentary series "28Up", Olympic Channel feature documentary "The Iron Hammer", documentary shorts for the NFL and NBA, national ads for Google, WNBA, Heineken, and directing a teaser for Netflix' upcoming "Squid Game: The Challenge." Luis also pursues his own film projects, including feature documentaries "Up From the Underground" and "Human Flesh Search Engine". His scripted dark comedy short film "This Will End Badly", was accepted to 12 festivals, and won Best Film at the 2019 B-Retina Festival in Barcelona. His independent web series ORO exceeded 1 million views. His latest documentary, "Mother of Buffalo", is currently prepping for a festival run. Luis earned a degree in East Asian Studies from Princeton University and speaks English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, all fluently.

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Albert Yu

Composer

Team

Albert Yu

Composer

Albert is a Canadian composer based in Shanghai.

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Hansdale Hsu

Sound Designer

Team

Hansdale Hsu

Sound Designer

Hansdale Hsu is a freelance sound designer, post-production mixer and (occasional) composer currently based in the NYC metro area. He works on short docs, audio branding campaigns and logos, film, branded content, web series, animation and podcasts. He is comfortable working with a range of clients, both corporate and non-profit, interacting with directors, producers, editors and composers to achieve the best possible sonic results for each project. Some of his clients include National Geographic, GEICO, The North Face, Hulu, Netflix, TED, Pineapple Street Media, Nike and The United Nations Capital Development Fund. His podcast work for National Geographic has garnered over a million downloads and his short documentary work has been screened at domestic and international film festivals. Hansdale holds a B.A. in Music from Wesleyan University and a Master’s in Music Technology from NYU. He is also a member of the Video Consortium.

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Yuan Guo

Title Designer

Team

Yuan Guo

Title Designer

I’m a designer based in LA. My focus is communication through visual language (both static and moving). I work in the cross-section of culture, history, technology and art. I believe in the complexity of humanity. It is in this complexity that design can flourish. I’m a constant learner, maker, and explorer. Always un-assuming, questioning, and exploring.

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Yanyu Chen

Producer

Team

Yanyu Chen

Producer

Yanyu is a seasoned producer with credits across film, television, commercial, and high-end corporate films.

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Background

...

Mother of Buffalo is the product of more than five years of continuous access to Jean, her community, and the buffalo themselves. Director Luis Arturo Tapia moved to Lantau Island in 2019 and became embedded in the tight-knit South Lantau community. He met Jean by chance on a jog, and the next day joined her on her rounds. He has been filming ever since, through Hong Kong's COVID border closures, multiple return trips from Dallas, and the accelerating deterioration of the buffalo's situation. That depth of access spanning August 2020 through February 2026 gives the film an intimacy and narrative scope that cannot be replicated.

The story resonates far beyond Hong Kong. It speaks to the global tension between development and conservation, to the question of what is lost when economic priorities override ecological ones. Jean's fight is deeply personal but universally recognizable: one person choosing to act when institutions will not. The film's themes of perseverance, human-nature connection, environmental justice, and the power of individual action give it wide appeal across conservation, wildlife, and human interest audiences.

The project already has significant traction. As of March 2026, Cathay Pacific Airways is screening the completed 27-minute first chapter on flights worldwide. The film has screened privately at schools, museums, conferences, and community events in both Hong Kong and Dallas. It has received funding support from The Swire Group Charitable Trust and The Austin Film Society, which honored it with the North Texas Pioneer Award grant. Additional sponsors and partners include the Royal Geographical Society Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, and Cathay Pacific.

Filming is complete. The project is now in post-production, with editing underway toward a 90-minute feature. Finishing funds will go toward editorial completion, sound design and mix, color grade, festival submissions, and distribution. The film is being positioned for international cinema screenings, major film festivals, educational distribution to schools and conservation organizations, and ultimately a broadcaster or streaming platform release.

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Participants

Jean Leung

Main Subject

Participant

Jean Leung

Main Subject

For 18 years, Jean Leung has been the primary caretaker of over 100 wild water buffalo on Hong Kong's Lantau Island. Her journey began in 2008 when a wounded bull limped into her garden with a badly broken leg after being hit by a bus. She nursed him back to health, named him Ngau Ngau, and promised to look after him forever. That promise expanded to encompass the entire herd.

Jean knows every buffalo by name, personality, family lineage, and food preferences. She spends each day traversing the island's wetlands, beaches, forests, and mountain trails to feed, treat injuries, and monitor her herd. She has never taken a day off. To fund he work, she came out of retirement to work part-time as a real estate agent.

Jean founded the South Lantau Buffalo Society to advocate for the buffalo's protection. She faces strong opposition from government sterilization programs, encroaching development, and vocal critics who want the buffalo removed from the island.

She is a beloved and sometimes divisive figure in the South Lantau community, known for her humor, tenacity, and fierce devotion to her buffalo children.

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Amy

Subject

Participant

Amy

Subject

A miracle calf. Watch the film to learn her story.

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Ngau Ngau

Subject

Participant

Ngau Ngau

Subject

In 2008, Ngau Ngau limped into Jean's garden with a badly broken right hind leg. He'd been hit by a bus. Jean promised to look after him forever, a promise she later extended to the entire 100+ count herd.

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Sam Ng

Subject

Participant

Sam Ng

Subject

When the government sterilized Sam Ng at the age of one, it devastated her health and she was removed from the herd to convalesce on a farm. When she returned, her own mother no longer recognized her and she was ostracized from the herd. A gentle soul with a remarkably expressive face, she often approached the camera with a polite curiosity.

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Big Head Boy

Subject

Participant

Big Head Boy

Subject

Big Boy reigned as king of the Pui O wetland for many years. A gentle giant, he rarely needed to fight to defend his territory--his massive frame was enough to keep challengers at bay. But he's showing his age and the young males increasingly are threatening his kingdom. Jean fears the next king won't be so peaceful.

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Cunning Boy

Subject

Participant

Cunning Boy

Subject

Aptly named, Cunning Boy is a mischievous fellow. He's often lurking nearby when Ngau Ngau takes his meals, hoping to sneak a bit of extra hay.

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Style & Tone

...

Mother of Buffalo is a cinematic documentary built on observational filmmaking. There are no talking-head interviews, no newsreel b-roll. The film places the viewer alongside Jean and the buffalo as events unfold in real time, guided by the director's narration.

The visual language is rooted in carefully composed, patient frames that let scenes breathe. Lantau Island's wetlands, beaches, forests, and mountain trails are captured with a heightened cinema aesthetic, drawing out the natural beauty of a landscape under threat. The camera stays close to Jean during her daily rounds, intimate yet restrained--never intrusive.

The editing is minimalist. Scenes develop at their own pace, sometimes languid, sometimes frenetic. Tension builds through accumulation: the slow encroachment of fencing and construction, the expanding sterilization campaign, the dwindling number of calves, the quiet rituals Jean repeats every day without fail. The emotional arc is carried by the story itself, not manufactured through editing.

The sound design is immersive and full surround, grounding the viewer in the environment. Wind across the wetlands, buffalo calls, the crunch of Jean's boots on a trail, the distant hum of construction. Music (including original compositions) underscores the mood of selected sequences.

The tone is warm but honest. Jean's story is full of humor, tenderness, and defiance, and the film reflects all of it without sentimentality. There is real loss here, and real stakes, but also joy and resilience. The narration is personal and conversational, reflecting the director's five-year relationship with Jean and his own membership in the South Lantau community.

The result is a film that feels less like watching a documentary and more like spending time with someone extraordinary in a place you didn't know existed.

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Budget

This section includes information about this project.

Festival creative camera camera camera screenplay award visual screenplay cinema. Production creative cinema camera film screenplay independent journey.

Grants & Awards

2025 North Texas Pioneer Award - Austin Film Society
2024 Grant - The Swire Group Charitable Trust

Rights

This section includes information about this project.

Visual independent production award journey project director journey cinema. Film camera editing doc festival story visual project team.

Our Ask

Mother of Buffalo is seeking finishing funds and distribution partners to complete and release the full-length feature.

Filming is complete. Five years of footage is in hand. A 27-minute first section of the film is already complete and screening on Cathay Pacific flights worldwide and has been shown privately at schools, museums, and community events in Hong Kong and Dallas. The foundation is built. What remains is editorial completion, sound mix, color grade, and a festival and distribution strategy.

We are open to conversations with sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, impact producers, and funders who connect with this story. The film has broad appeal across documentary, wildlife, conservation, and human interest audiences, and strong potential for educational distribution.

All distribution rights to the feature are available.

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Project Website

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Mother of Buffalo

Logline

Stills

Team

Luis Tapia

Luis Tapia

Albert Yu

Albert Yu

Hansdale Hsu

Hansdale Hsu

Yuan Guo

Yuan Guo

Yanyu Chen

Yanyu Chen

Participants

Jean Leung

Jean Leung

Amy

Amy

Ngau Ngau

Ngau Ngau

Sam Ng

Sam Ng

Big Head Boy

Big Head Boy

Cunning Boy

Cunning Boy

Budget

Grants & Awards

Rights

Our Ask