Uncle For Rent

Online movie critic known for his sharp reviews, has now become an AI to dish the dirt on the latest cinematic disaster, "The Mermaid Falls for Me." A struggling writer who's close to his mom, stumbles into an online romance with a fan of his work. He thinks he's hit the jackpot in love and heads to an island for a mix of business and pleasure. But when his internet sweetheart is a no-show and his writing gig goes south, He's left high and dry. That's when he unexpectedly connects with Wen, his innkeeper, who's actually his online crush in disguise—a woman healing from a broken heart through her anonymous internet persona. Wen, once shy and lacking confidence, comes alive with the writer’s flirty chats. The writer inspired by Wen, invites her to co-write a new spin on the tired mermaid story. But as they finish, life throws a wrench in the works: His mom falls ill. In the emotional chaos, he finds out Wen was his mystery girl all along. He reacts badly, and Wen leaves, heartbroken.

A Macau photographed with elegant realism forms the backdrop to the life of Lina, a Chinese immigrant working both as a waitress in a restaurant and as a hostess in a bar in order to save money to join her mother and daughter in China. By chance she meets taxi driver Mada, also an immigrant from China. Both have a past they want to forget and love feels like it might be their last chance to avoid being alone. But as is always the case in a melodrama, the past isn't easily tamed.

This is a story about how family can impact the growth of a young woman. It follows Elaine, who grew up in poverty in the 1980’s, and her best friend Ying as they enter the Hong Kong entertainment industry to change their fate. In the golden era of Hong Kong cinema, Ying becomes a popular erotic star while Elaine struggles between her identity and her job as an actor. When Hong Kong cinema’s glory fades a decade later, the two women end up on diverging paths due to their life choices.

"Years of Macau" is an anthology film consisting of nine short films set in different years and locations in Macau. They include "Go Back Home", "REC-Last Days", "Sparkling Mind", "The Last Show", "Till the End of World", "The First Cigarette", "A Moment", "Dirty Laundry" and "Summer". All nine directors are from Macau, most of whom were born and raised here. The stories of each film share what the directors feel about Macau using the language of cinema to convey their love for the city.

A group of troubled high-school students look to rise above their broken family backgrounds and pursue their music dreams in the diverting, if haphazardly scripted, Our Seventeen.