- Japan Premiere
Competition
Emptiness
VACIO
Director: Paul VENEGAS
2020｜Ecuador, Uruguay｜92min｜Language: Mandarin, Spanish｜Subtitles: English, Japanese
| Date | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 3/6 Sat | 16:45 | Cine Libre Umeda 4 |
| 3/11 Thu | 16:00 | Cine Libre Umeda 4 |
- Cast
- FU Jing (付静)
Mario ZHU (朱李蛋)
Daniel MENG (孟大民)
Ricardo VELASTEGUI - Synopsis
Lei (FU Jing) and Wong (Mario ZHU) are two illegal immigrants who have arrived in the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. While Wong plans to build a new life outside of China for his twelve-year-old son, Lei holds on to her dream of travelling to New York but they are disorientated by being in a new land with an unfamiliar culture and different language. While they find shelter with the local Chinese community, both end up getting involved with a seemingly benevolent mobster named CHANG (Daniel MENG) who holds influence in the town and controls a drug smuggling ring and when CHANG becomes infatuated with Lei, he reveals a violent and controlling side that jeopardises their safety and freedom.
While the headline of the story is a crime thriller, the film serves more as an exploration of the immigrant experience as the film spends time showing the uncertainty and vulnerability felt in travel, the hopes and struggle to retain dignity and also the small joys of connecting with new people as well as the emptiness in a place one has no connection.
[Jason MAHER]
Director Paul VENEGAS