In competition for the FIPRESCI Prize.
film synopsis
In this gripping, character-driven drama, a mother and teenage daughter grapple with an unprecedented and tumultuous moment in their lives while stuck inside during the COVID-19 quarantine. The blue tarp that covers their building while being renovated, blocking out the sunlight, only contributes to their feelings of claustrophobia and entrapment. While they are forced to spend more time together, Xiao Jing (Gingle Wang) has her first inkling that all is not right with her mom, Pin-Wen (Alyssa Chia). What can initially be dismissed as “pandemic jitters” soon escalates as Pin-Wen becomes increasingly obsessed with her husband who left long ago, and suddenly switches from a career in high finance to an entry-level job at a supermarket. Writer-director Chong Mong-hong crafts a complex familial narrative against a backdrop of urban alienation, exploring the fascinating evolution of teen Xiao Jing’s coming of age as her mother’s fragile emotional state thrusts her into the world of adult responsibility.