Saigon, 1990s. San, a transgender sex worker, longs for the gender-affirming surgery that will allow her to live as her true self. Determined to help her realize that dream, her lover Nam risks everything by entering the underground world of dog-cage fighting. But as their hopes become entangled with violence and exploitation, the young couple must fight to protect their love and humanity.

It’s one of the most accessible Vietnamese films to have hit the international festival circuit in recent years, and it shines a light into the shadow economies created by the country’s rapid development. But the film’s greatest asset is Trân Quân, who had never acted before and is the first trans person to lead a Vietnamese film. -Buttered Popcorn

DIRECTED BY ASH MAYFAIR