Abang Adik
Abang Adik
Director: Jin Ong
Country: Malaysia
Year: 2023
Running Time: 115 minutes
Producer: Nicole Teoh, Trini Lam
Starring: Kang-Ren Wu, Jack Tan
Synopsis:
Abang and Adi are native Malaysian but live without ID cards. Abang, the older brother, was born mute and his only goal in life is to work hard and seek a stable life. Adi, on the other hand, is unwilling to give in to his fate and becomes involved in selling fake IDs, aiming to make fast money, and gets away from this place with Abang. Jia En, a kind and enthusiastic NGO girl, makes every effort to help the brothers to apply for a legal identity card. However, a fatal accident then happens and once again places Abang and Adi in dire straits.
Director’s Biography:
Jin Ong, the founder of More Entertainment Sdn Bhd, has developed film and television productions since 2008. He also served as curator of the first and second Malaysia International Film Festival. “Abang Adik” won the Mirror Fiction Story Award and FPP Visionary Award in Golden Horse FPP in 2020. In 2023, the film won the Audience Award and the Ecumenical Jury Award at the 37th Fribourg International Film Festival. After producing many films, “Abang Adik” is Ong’s first attempt as director.
Dreaming & Dying
Dreaming & Dying
Director: Nelson Yeo
Country: Singapore, Indonesia
Year: 2023
Running Time: 77 minutes
Producer: Si En Tan, Sophia Sim
Starring: Doreen Toh, Peter Yu, Kelvin Ho
Synopsis:
Three middle-aged friends reunite for the first time in years. Each of them sets out to confess unexpressed feelings but their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives threatens to resurface.
Director’s Biography:
Nelson Yeo graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Filmmaking from Nanyang Technological University in 2011. Yeo has a prolific body of works. His short films have been selected at over 30 international film festivals such as Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg, Cairo International Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. His first feature film “Dreaming & Dying” premiered at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival, Concorso Cineasti del presente section.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Director: Pham Thien An
Country: Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain
Year: 2023
Running Time: 178 minutes
Producer: Jeremy Chua, Tran Van Thi
Starring: Le Phong Vu, Nguyen Thi Truc Quynh, Nguyen Thinh, Vu Ngoc Manh
Synopsis:
A reluctant Thien must take the body of his sister-in-law, who died in a freak Motorcycle accident in Saigon, and her five-year-old son Dao, who miraculously survived the crash, to their hometown in the countryside. Thien begins a search for his older brother who vanished years ago to hand Dao over to him. On the road, Thien has a series of sublime dreams and enthralling encounters that reignite suppressed memories and forbidden desires.
Director’s Biography:
Thien An Pham is a film director and writer from Vietnam. After graduating in Information Technology, he realized his interest in cinematography and filmmaking by teaching himself how to shoot and edit films. His latest short “Stay Awake, Be Ready” won the Illy Prize at Directors’ Fortnight 2019 and was screened at numerous festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, Locarno Open Doors, Busan and has won other awards.
Morrison
Morrison
Director: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Country: Thailand, France
Year: 2023
Running Time: 106 minutes
Producer: Mai Meksawan, Chatchai Chaiyon
Starring: Chulachak Chakrabongse, Kitty Chicha, Joe Cummings
Synopsis:
Jimmy, a 40-year-old former popstar turned engineer, is sent to the region of his childhood to supervise the renovation of an old hotel. Once settled, Jimmy finds out the once flamboyant hotel has become a ruin, a maze of narrow corridors and a relic of a bygone era.
Director’s Biography:
Phuttiphong Aroonpheng works as a film director and cinematographer. His films have screened in major film festivals in Europe, America and Asia. His debut feature film as a director “Manta Ray” won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the 2018 Venice Film Festival, as well as 11 other international awards.
Nowhere Near
Nowhere Near
Director: Miko Revereza
Country: The Philippines, Mexico
Year: 2023
Running Time: 96 minutes
Producer: Shireen Seno
Starring: Aurora Fernandez Revereza, Pedro Revereza, Jet Revereza, Bernadette Gutierrez, Matthew Revereza, Matthew So
Synopsis:
Through fragmented streams of consciousness, “Nowhere Near” tracks down the origin of a family curse backtracking through the generational harm of the post 9/11 era, the United States occupation of the Philippines and the spiritual conquest of the Spanish Empire. The film is a years-long diary towards understanding the root of their migration to the United States, though ultimately this odyssey deviates far from the expected course.
Director’s Biography:
Miko Revereza was born in Manila, and grew up in the United States, where he attended Bard College, before moving to Mexico. He’s the director of the short films “Disintegration 93-96” (2017) and “Distancing” (2019), as well as the features “No Data Plan” (2019) and “The Still Side” (2021), which he directed alongside Carolina Fusilier. “Nowhere Near” is his latest film.
Oasis of Now
Oasis of Now
Director: Chia Chee Sum
Country: Malaysia, Singapore, France
Year: 2023
Running Time: 90 minutes
Producer: Lee Yve Vonn, Fran Borgia, Xavier Rocher, Chia Chee Sum
Starring: Ta Thi Diu, Aster Yeow Ee, Abd Manaf Bin Rejab
Synopsis:
A woman is secretly meeting a small girl at the corner of a stairwell in an old Kuala Lumpur apartment. They see each other occasionally here, sharing a moment together before returning separately to their homes, but nothing is quite what it seems.
Director’s Biography:
Chia Chee Sum is a Malaysian filmmaker, an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy (Busan), FIRST Training Camp (Xining), and recipient of Talents Tokyo 2020 Award. His short film HIGH WAY (2018), won the Jury Prize at the Busan International Short Film Festival. He is co-founder of theCommonist, a film and animation production company based in Malaysia and Thailand. His feature film debut, Oasis of Now, was developed at the SEAFIC Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab and presented at Locarno Open Doors Hub, Talents Tokyo and Berlinale Talent Project Market.
Tiger Stripes
Tiger Stripes
Director: Amanda Nell Eu
Country: Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Indonesia & Qatar
Year: 2023
Running Time: 95 minutes
Producer: Foo Fei Ling, Patrick Mao Huang, Fran Borgia, Juliette
Lepoutre, Pierre Menahem, Jonas Weydemann, Ellen Havenith, Yulia Evina Bhara
Starring: Zafreen Zairizal, Deena Ezral, Piqa
Synopsis:
The first among her friends to hit puberty, 12-year-old Zaffan discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free she must embrace the body she fears, emerging as a proud, strong woman.
Director’s Biography:
Amanda graduated from the London Film School with a master’s degree in filmmaking. Her short film “Lagi Senang Jaga Sekandang Lembu” premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival. The film has continued to travel and win awards in many other international festivals, including a Special Mention at the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand. Her next short film Vinegar Baths has also won several awards in festivals, including Best Picture at Scream Asia Horror shorts competition. “Tiger Stripes” is her debut feature film.
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