After years of toiling in bit parts, aspiring actress Nina Wu (Wu Ke-Xi, who also co-wrote the script based on her own personal experiences) finally gets her break as the female lead in a big-budget espionage thriller. The role, which calls for nudity and explicit sex scenes, is made all the more challenging by the director’s savage belittlements. Hovering on the brink of stardom, Nina’s psychological resolve begins to crack under the pressure. As she clings to her sanity, a traumatic past event begins to resurface.

Premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, this stylized thriller from Midi Z, reminiscent of Mulholland Drive and other poison pen letters to the entertainment industry, is a “a vividly disorientating #metoo themed drama” (Screen Daily) anchored by Wu Ke-Xi’s “ferocious, driven performance” (The Hollywood Reporter).

DIRECTED BY MIDI Z
TAIWAN, MALAYSIA, MYANMAR | 2019 | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES