Shao Yu-lan

In rural Taiwan, during her mother’s funeral, A-Hsien, the eldest daughter, grapples with grief, resentment, and the quiet burden of tradition. As patriarchal rituals unfold, a silent resistance emerges, unsettling the roles she was expected to fulfill.

In 2006, Detective Chang leads a police investigation into a murder committed in a public marketplace. Chang discovers the victim's father has ties to several other families with dead or missing members, and a grim espionage case buried for 50 years in Taiwan's past. Meanwhile, the kidnapped Mr. Hsu is interrogated by a mysterious mastermind. As the truth emerges, the embers of history become a deadly wildfire.

Ah Dai comes from a family that runs a prestigious orthodox temple. His childhood sweetheart, Yufan, is desperate to locate her missing aunt. In his attempt to help, Ah Dai agrees to participate in a special ritual that his schoolmates believe could help them seek assistance from the gods to grant their desires. However, they are lured into praying to evil forces instead. As his schoolmates die one after another, Ah Dai tries to use his gift to exorcise evil to save his friends. At the very end, he faces a completely demonized Yufan and must fight her to save the neighborhood.

Years later, the younger brother returns to his abandoned childhood home and the mud-covered ground where memories lie buried. He looks back on the traumatic years of his adolescence. As an adult, he digs up the objects and memories once buried there, continuing his search for a way back to himself.

Just like the delicious dishes on this New Year’s Eve, the tension between He Muguang, her father and grandmother heat up, revealing more than just trash buried under grand-mas cluttered stuff.

Liu Hui is a widower whose son lives in America. She insists on living alone in the house she shared with her late husband, a calligrapher, and is surrounded by fond memories. As she gradually joins community activities, she strikes up an acquaintance with the kind and shy building caretaker who faces a quandary over a stray cat. Small moments together reveal loneliness and companionship.

“My birthday with God” tells the story of a young boy yearning for attention and understanding on a day that holds deep personal significance—his birthday.