Midi Z

Six filmmakers present six short films about the experiences of Chinese immigrants. Shot across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Myanmar, the anthology depicts the crisis of identity that accompanies international migration.

A desperate Westerner pursues greener pastures in Asia, where greed, rivalry and ego ultimately spiral into a shocking murder.

A weary-looking middle-aged couple shuffle around their cluttered loft in Yangon, Myanmar. There is stuff everywhere, and a mountain of pills in blister packs lie haphazardly on top of a glass case. The loft turns out to be a clinic and the couple are qualified doctors. They are also artistic: she paints and draws, he is making a feature film, and their patients receive creative therapy in addition to regular treatment. This might not be a sterile, efficient hospital full of white coats, and the treatment rooms might look shabby, but there is real time and attention for people here.

After years toiling in bit-parts, an actress finally gets her break with a leading role in a spy thriller. The part is challenging, not least because it calls for explicit sex scenes, and the director is often hard on her. But both the industry and the press think the results are sensationally good.

Lianqing and Guo, who hail from Burma, flee their country and seek refuge in Thailand. Gho's feelings for Lianqing may just surpass her feelings for him.

Qiao Yan, born in a border town in southwest China, becomes a star actress after much effort and struggle. But despite her aura of glamour, she always feels hidden pressure. When she receives a threatening anonymous letter, her long-estranged sister suddenly comes to see her.

Six filmmakers present six short films about the experiences of Chinese immigrants. Shot across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Myanmar, the anthology depicts the crisis of identity that accompanies international migration.

Six filmmakers present six short films about the experiences of Chinese immigrants. Shot across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Myanmar, the anthology depicts the crisis of identity that accompanies international migration.

A desperate Westerner pursues greener pastures in Asia, where greed, rivalry and ego ultimately spiral into a shocking murder.

A desperate Westerner pursues greener pastures in Asia, where greed, rivalry and ego ultimately spiral into a shocking murder.

A weary-looking middle-aged couple shuffle around their cluttered loft in Yangon, Myanmar. There is stuff everywhere, and a mountain of pills in blister packs lie haphazardly on top of a glass case. The loft turns out to be a clinic and the couple are qualified doctors. They are also artistic: she paints and draws, he is making a feature film, and their patients receive creative therapy in addition to regular treatment. This might not be a sterile, efficient hospital full of white coats, and the treatment rooms might look shabby, but there is real time and attention for people here.

After years toiling in bit-parts, an actress finally gets her break with a leading role in a spy thriller. The part is challenging, not least because it calls for explicit sex scenes, and the director is often hard on her. But both the industry and the press think the results are sensationally good.

After years toiling in bit-parts, an actress finally gets her break with a leading role in a spy thriller. The part is challenging, not least because it calls for explicit sex scenes, and the director is often hard on her. But both the industry and the press think the results are sensationally good.

After years toiling in bit-parts, an actress finally gets her break with a leading role in a spy thriller. The part is challenging, not least because it calls for explicit sex scenes, and the director is often hard on her. But both the industry and the press think the results are sensationally good.

Lianqing and Guo, who hail from Burma, flee their country and seek refuge in Thailand. Gho's feelings for Lianqing may just surpass her feelings for him.

Lianqing and Guo, who hail from Burma, flee their country and seek refuge in Thailand. Gho's feelings for Lianqing may just surpass her feelings for him.

Qiao Yan, born in a border town in southwest China, becomes a star actress after much effort and struggle. But despite her aura of glamour, she always feels hidden pressure. When she receives a threatening anonymous letter, her long-estranged sister suddenly comes to see her.

Qiao Yan, born in a border town in southwest China, becomes a star actress after much effort and struggle. But despite her aura of glamour, she always feels hidden pressure. When she receives a threatening anonymous letter, her long-estranged sister suddenly comes to see her.

Midi Z visits his oncle who works as a jade miner.

Midi Z visits his oncle who works as a jade miner.

Midi Z visits his oncle who works as a jade miner.

After decades of military rule, Burma has finally held its first presidential election. Many Burmese living abroad believe that peace and prosperity will soon soon follow, including Wang Xing-Hong who is living as an immigrant laborer in Taiwan and saves his money so he can return home. When Xing-hong arrives, he feels like a stranger in a foreign land but is determined to stay and make his life in Burma.

After decades of military rule, Burma has finally held its first presidential election. Many Burmese living abroad believe that peace and prosperity will soon soon follow, including Wang Xing-Hong who is living as an immigrant laborer in Taiwan and saves his money so he can return home. When Xing-hong arrives, he feels like a stranger in a foreign land but is determined to stay and make his life in Burma.

After decades of military rule, Burma has finally held its first presidential election. Many Burmese living abroad believe that peace and prosperity will soon soon follow, including Wang Xing-Hong who is living as an immigrant laborer in Taiwan and saves his money so he can return home. When Xing-hong arrives, he feels like a stranger in a foreign land but is determined to stay and make his life in Burma.

Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.

Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.

Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.

A fascinating documentary, shot in the mountainous north of Burma. No filmmaker is welcome there, because, against the background of a civil war, the jade miners enter the deserted mines illegally. With the aid of filming locals, however, Midi Z was able to compile this portrait. Getting rich quick turns out to be hard and risky work Jade has always been a valuable commodity in Asia. In the mountains in the north of Burma there are valuable deposits of jade. The area forms part of Kachin State, inhabited by many ethnic groups which found themselves embroiled in the Civil War in 2010 with the Burmese government. Jade mining was halted because of the conflict. Thousands of workers, however, went to the war zone in order to dig for illegal jade. It turned the region into a no-go area and the filmmaker Midi Z, who had so far made feature films in Burma, saw no opportunity to go and film there. It was far too dangerous. © iffr.com

A fascinating documentary, shot in the mountainous north of Burma. No filmmaker is welcome there, because, against the background of a civil war, the jade miners enter the deserted mines illegally. With the aid of filming locals, however, Midi Z was able to compile this portrait. Getting rich quick turns out to be hard and risky work Jade has always been a valuable commodity in Asia. In the mountains in the north of Burma there are valuable deposits of jade. The area forms part of Kachin State, inhabited by many ethnic groups which found themselves embroiled in the Civil War in 2010 with the Burmese government. Jade mining was halted because of the conflict. Thousands of workers, however, went to the war zone in order to dig for illegal jade. It turned the region into a no-go area and the filmmaker Midi Z, who had so far made feature films in Burma, saw no opportunity to go and film there. It was far too dangerous. © iffr.com

A collaborative project consisting four young generation of Taiwan directors, and four young foreign directors from Chile, France, Iran, and South Korea.Without being acquainted previously before meeting each other in Taipei, the eight of them shared their life experiences, and then co-wrote and co-directed four short films based on impressions and imaginations of a city.

A collaborative project consisting four young generation of Taiwan directors, and four young foreign directors from Chile, France, Iran, and South Korea.Without being acquainted previously before meeting each other in Taipei, the eight of them shared their life experiences, and then co-wrote and co-directed four short films based on impressions and imaginations of a city.

Arranged by a smuggling syndicate, A-Hong and his young teen sister along with a group of Burmese youngsters sneak across the Myanmar/Thailand border and arrive in a remote town called Dagudi in Northern Thailand. A-Hong's sister is taken away by the gangs as her mother has sold her to them. A-Hong goes to Bangkok and works under a tour guide, a wildcatter from Myanmar who has lived in Thailand illegally for years.

A young farmer and his father are barely able to survive on their meagre corn harvest and so they make their way down from the mountains to the village to borrow money from their relatives working in jade mines or on opium plantations. But missing paperwork, deceit and corruption have left them impoverished too. Finally, the father pawns his cow for a moped so that his son can earn a living as a taxi driver. His first customer is Sanmei, who has returned to Myanmar to bury her grandfather. She decides not to go back to China and to get out of an arranged marriage in order to begin a new life with her son in her old country. When Sanmei accepts a job as a drug runner she persuades the young farmer to be her driver.

A young farmer and his father are barely able to survive on their meagre corn harvest and so they make their way down from the mountains to the village to borrow money from their relatives working in jade mines or on opium plantations. But missing paperwork, deceit and corruption have left them impoverished too. Finally, the father pawns his cow for a moped so that his son can earn a living as a taxi driver. His first customer is Sanmei, who has returned to Myanmar to bury her grandfather. She decides not to go back to China and to get out of an arranged marriage in order to begin a new life with her son in her old country. When Sanmei accepts a job as a drug runner she persuades the young farmer to be her driver.

A young farmer and his father are barely able to survive on their meagre corn harvest and so they make their way down from the mountains to the village to borrow money from their relatives working in jade mines or on opium plantations. But missing paperwork, deceit and corruption have left them impoverished too. Finally, the father pawns his cow for a moped so that his son can earn a living as a taxi driver. His first customer is Sanmei, who has returned to Myanmar to bury her grandfather. She decides not to go back to China and to get out of an arranged marriage in order to begin a new life with her son in her old country. When Sanmei accepts a job as a drug runner she persuades the young farmer to be her driver.

Since June 2023, another civil war between the government and the rebel forces has been raging on in Myanmar. Midi, the director who has been away for years, comes back to the port, where he waited for six months to obtain his first passport. His anxiety and people's suffering not only remain but even increase. Homeland has always stayed in his heart, but he can never return to it.

Everyday there are many people traveling long distances from Burma to China. They buy motorcycles and resell them in Burma to earn money. Lashio is the traffic center of middle Burma. Jay, who graduated from high school, having no jobs and staying at home, plans to earn money from motorcycle selling after his mum suggested him to do so. Jay then borrows money from his elder brother and sets off his journey to China. Successfully buying motorcycles, will Jay be lucky enough to stay away from robbery while he is driving back home with hopes? Midi left his hometown for a decade and this time he came back and spent two days in underground risky shooting.

A film director interviews Burmese refugees about their experiences encountering oppression and cruelty in their homeland, and reads aloud poetry about the destruction of Hiroshima by atomic bomb.

Adopting a pseudo-documentary format with a film-within-a-film metacinema approach, it portrays the onsite filming and behind-the-scenes during the making of Spy Love.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Simple, yet complex. A man (favourite actor Wang Shin-hong) meets a woman (standard actor Wu Ke-xi) on a moored ship, a sort of floating palace decorated like a Buddhist temple. The woman or her spirit struggles with her memories and the man takes on the form of a Buddhist monk in his next life. Complex and yet simple. The man, the woman and the camera move gracefully 'dancing' through the space. Only the thought of escape.

Simple, yet complex. A man (favourite actor Wang Shin-hong) meets a woman (standard actor Wu Ke-xi) on a moored ship, a sort of floating palace decorated like a Buddhist temple. The woman or her spirit struggles with her memories and the man takes on the form of a Buddhist monk in his next life. Complex and yet simple. The man, the woman and the camera move gracefully 'dancing' through the space. Only the thought of escape.