Kah-Wai Lim

Tourists, foreigners and outcasts converge on the streets of Osaka in this sprawling ensemble drama by Japan-based, Malaysia-born filmmaker Lim Kah Wai. His eighth feature explores the lesser-known aspects of the Asian melting pot city through the eyes and experiences of a dozen characters who struggle to find their place in society: among them a Nepali refugee with dreams of opening a restaurant, a Burmese student struggling to make ends meet while working two jobs, and a Taiwanese sex tourist who travels to meet his favorite adult video actress.

In Tokyo, a young man, Tomo, and his companion, Hiroko, have hardly any money left to their name. Convinced that their misfortune is part of a larger, unexplainable joke, they agree to throw themselves into all the encounters that come their way with the singular hope of defeating this joke before it plays out.

Fong Ka-Man, has been leading a middle class lifestyle. One day, during a heavy rain in the dusk, bearing the fear of illness, she is unwillingly staying away from the rain inside the tunnel. She first encounters a weird tramp, and then a young farmer who is rushing to deliver his harvest. It’s about how the “normal” passes by the “abnormal”. What makes them “normal” and “abnormal” seems to be realistic, but maybe it is just a void. Fong Ka-Man is anxious to find an exit from the difficult circumstance, but accidentally she finds out that what she yearns for is the disappeared end of this city.

Aoi has dropped out of high school and gives birth to a baby son with her husband Masaya. They live in Okinawa, the Southern island of Japan where they were both born. To make ends meet, she starts working as a night-club hostess. Masaya loses his job and cannot deal with the family’s responsibilities. Their immaturity and dependence aggravate the relationship and continuous fights lead to a social downfall. Aoi’s bond with her son sets her on a path to find solutions.

Coco, a Beijing modern girl wants to spend a romantic and fancy Christmas vacation in Osaka. However the place where she gets in is Shinsekai ( "New World" in English, is an old neighbourhood located next to south Osaka city's downtown "Minami " area, as known as one of the most poorest and dangerous area in Osaka.)When she arrives there, she starts feeling regret and frustrated by the encounters and the landscapes which are far beyond her expectation. Suddenly she is involved in an incident surrounds a Chinese family there, meanwhile she starts fascinated by Shinsekai through her wondering. In this short and unusual Christmas vacation, Coco discovers a "Japan " she never knows and a "China" that she is not familiar with.

A bittersweet, hilarious, enlightening and inspirational road trip through Japanese arthouse cinemas with a heartily independent filmmaker, who also struggles to release his own movies in real life.

Ah Jie returns to his hometown after several years and soon realizes that no one remembers him. Even his family denies his relationship to them. Depressed, Ah Jie meets Lao Huang, who tells Ah Jie that he can help uncover the truth to why no one recognizes him.