In this specially curated short film strand, filmmakers from various backgrounds present their manifestos on "imperfection" through diverse cinematic forms. Using bizarre forms or Lynchian imagery, they mirror another kind of reality, and we, in turn, learn to face the horrors embedded within the body, embracing our true selves in the cracks and fragments (programme notes by MINT CFF’s Co-curator, Simyun Li).
Mom always braided my hair so tightly that
it carved a distinct path atop my head.
But one day, she cut off the carefully
braided hair. Along the path, I touched our unbreakable inner attachment, and
the journey of female growth we were both unprepared to face.
The film is set in modern-day Los Angeles
and follows Jules, a Chinese American woman. Jules, who is newly sober,
discovers that the vomiting never goes away as expected. She now vomits fish
whenever triggered by negative stimuli. She usually keeps this a secret, but
every now and then, she tells it as a joke that no one believes. Jules, who is
organized, caring, and trying to find her place in society, jumps between jobs
and goes on casual dates. Things never go exactly as planned. However, Jules
finally meets a person, who is a fish enthusiast, after a string of bad dates.
Things quickly escalate between them, forcing Jules to confront something she
has avoided her entire life.
Fei, a 16 year old British-Chinese girl, is
the top violinist in an elite youth orchestra. When another Chinese violinist
arrives to challenge her place in the orchestra, Fei’s anxieties and
internalized racism grow to take monstrous physical form. They whisper to her,
urging her to be the best, no matter the cost.
On the day of her 30th birthday, Ye Nian
promises her friend Gao Yuan to go to a ruins to help him take a photo work as
the model. When she arrives, she finds a wall composed of dried orange peels
and moldy orange peels that looks like a huge eye. When she is modeling, the
wall had some influence on her..after she finishes modeling, in the rest of
that day, everything she deals and every person she meets cause her get more
allergy reaction on her body....
