Saito Chong

In a night woven with mushroom soup and hallucinations, two brothers met in the mountain for camping – and burying their late father's body.

Music is the common language that draws people together. Johann Bach’s Goldberg Variations brings the two lonely and unrelated people in the film - an inconspicuous mid-aged man Joe and a once popular actress Shu closer. A subtle and occasional encounter takes place in the remote country side where Joe is the night shift storekeeper and Shu goes to the area for shooting. When Joe plays this particular work of Bach, Shu is touched and shares with him her miserable life experiences. He feels that there is a bonding between them until he attempts to explore more into this illusive “relationship”.

Inspired by a true story, Eggs tells the tale of A-Li and A-Mai from Vietnam who meet and fall in love in Taiwan. When A-mai gets pregnant, what follows is not necessarily a blessing. Like many lost-contact migrant workers in Taiwan who, worried that they cannot afford to raise their children, flee and take on cash-in-hand jobs, A-Li and A-Mai go up the mountain to a place full of lychee stink bugs where A-Li can earn some money. When stopped by the police, they escape into the mountains and forests for fear of their status as illegal migrant workers. Taking refuge inside an abandoned factory, the couple tries to evade the police and to ensure the safe delivery of the baby.

Hong Kong figure skater Wing-yee travels to Toronto alone for advanced training, aspiring to compete on the international stage. Despite the warm welcome and encouragement she receives there, very soon Win-yee faces setbacks and realises she is falling behind her peers. It is the friendship and support of warm-hearted Christy that eventually helps Wing-yee through her initial confusion and self-doubt, and she gradually develops a fondness for this beautiful roommate. Filmed between wintry Canada and mild Hong Kong, the short offers a poetic tale of two cities, about young passion, loss, and loneliness.

Although 15-year old Wing is bounced around in foster homes, he forms a genuine sibling relationship with 9-year old Hoi Lam and the mentally challenged Chi Yan. They are cared for by Chi Yan's grandmother who heads up this makeshift family. Occasionally full of teen angst and bordering on delinquency, Wing nevertheless showers Hoi Lam and Chi Yan with brotherly care. Cheerful Ho Lam dreams of reunion with his mother. Wing, more world-weary, ends up transferring to a youth hostel. In their brief days together, the trio formed a true family bonded by love instead of blood. The immensely likeable and talented trio of actors shines in this poignant and heartwarming tale on how children find strength in each other.

The cactus at home is withered like Qingxiong. Qingxiong hopes that he will decide when to die, but he can't do anything because of his physical inconvenience. His wife, Simei, who has been taking care of Qingxiong for a long time, has always known his thought, but she has been unable to bear it.

The poignant drama centers on Mr. Chan, a passionate secondary school teacher dedicated to students with special educational needs (SEN). Adapting the approach of inclusive education by placing SEN students in mainstream schools, Mr. Chan's unwavering dedication is challenged by those around him including the largely indifferent principal who scoffed at the name of the symptoms, the vice-principal who is more a deal maker than an educator, fellow bullying students and the parents who face numerous hurdles with strength derived solely from their enduring motherly love. An unflinching look of Mr. Chan's and the mother of a SEN student raise the question: how to care for the SEN students without leaving them high and dry?

Countless moving cuboids dispersed across the city act as witnesses to the secret whispers that are drowned out by the crowd.