These are our ten recommended short films from the Odyssey Film Festival, which takes place from September 16 until October 16, 2024 in cinemas across the UK online.

Note: All these short films are available online from September 16 until October 16, 2024 in the festival’s official website.

A River Stifled by Bu Jingwei – China | 2024 – 17 minutes

Ever wondered who the people sitting beside you in a restaurant are? In this short’s small eatery in northeast China, there is a young man just released from prison, his father, and a girl who aspires to be an online influencer. Conversations, food, and drinks bring back the past and point to the future of these common people with an uncommon life. -Chris Lau. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024

Dimming by Jack Kuei – Taiwan | 2024 – 9 minutes

What lies behind a bustling night market in Taiwan? The vendor at a juice stall cuts open a pineapple as his problems are revealed with the sudden arrival of a woman and her child. With simple but well-designed dialogues, this short reveals a thorny problem and a girl’s effort to find joy amidst the dimming lights. -Chris Lau. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024

Eggs by Saito Chong – China | 2023 – 19 minutes

A migrant couple from Vietnam, A Li and A Mai, fall in love in Taiwan, but A Mai’s pregnancy turns her into a burden to her employer, forcing them into cash-in-hand work to survive. As A Mai’s nears childbirth, they face a police raid, driving them to flee to the mountains teeming with lychee stink bugs, yet they remain trapped in a fate of isolation and despair. The director sheds light on the plight of “lost-contact migrant workers” in official records. Through A Li’s story, the film uses the lychee stink bug – an invasive pest in Taiwan – as a metaphor for marginalised individuals who are stigmatised and forced to confront a fragmented and precarious reality. With realistic imagery, the film powerfully captures the tragedy of those living as outsiders in a foreign land. -Qi Wu. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024

Trailer:

Girl of Wind by Yuen Nan-His – China | 2023 – 37 minutes

Yang Yang, a solitary deaf girl with a passion for free climbing skyscrapers, lives in a silent world without wealth or power, driven only by her untamed and free spirit. The director meets her by chance, and their life journeys begin to intertwine. Over five years of filming, their conversations evolve into reflections on each other’s lives as well as their own, and they grow into friends who can explore each other’s worlds and dreams at any moment. As Marcel Proust said, “The true journey of discovery lies not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” This is Yang Yang’s life journey, as well as the director’s introspective examination of her own life. (OdysseyFF 2024)

Happy Valentine’s by Lee Yile – Taiwan | 2023 – 13 minutes

A girl remains silent while her friend talks non-stop during their unexpected encounter in a restaurant. Using the popular Taiwanese dish “pineapple with shrimp balls” as a crucial element, the director turns August Strindberg’s 1889 play The Stronger (Den starkare) into this captivating short. Strindberg’s play and this short is set in different time and space, but desire and jealousy can be found in human’s lives from late 19th Century Sweden to modern-day Taiwan. Selected to screen at the 18th Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival, this short gradually unveils the secret behind the two women protagonists with well-written monologues. -Chris Lau. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024

Lykke Til by Bobby Yu Shuk Pui – Hong Kong| 2023 – 30 minutes

A story about settling and struggling in a foreign land. Ann is a young Hong Kong migrant in Norway. Facing different issues like visa, employment, cultural differences, racism, and a difficult situation with her partner, Ann tries to make the right decision for herself and reclaim her life.

Trailer:

Save My Soul by Leung Kam Fai – China | 2023 – 14 minutes

Rejected by his peers, a young mute lives a life of solitude away from the city. As he turns away from city life, food that used to be so readily available becomes out of reach. He turns to the cat food left by a blind old man for the stray cats and the two develop an unexpected relationship. Two lonely souls, connected by food not intended for them, ignite strange sparks of intimacy as they find comfort in each other. With wild, dream-like images, the director brings the audience into a surreal world beyond their imagination. -Chris Lau. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024

Trailer:

Sunflower Girl by Holly M. Kaplan – USA | 2023 – 14 minutes

Sunflower Girl follows 13-year-old Rosie, a Chinese-American girl, as she embarks on a carefree skateboarding adventure through New York City with her crush and his best friend, leaving behind her little sister and a forgotten lunchbox. The film captures the bittersweet tug-of-war between youthful freedom and family responsibilities, offering a nuanced look at the complex feelings of growing up. (OdysseyFF 2024)

Trailer:

The Taste of Pineapple by Yang Chenghao – Taiwan | 2024 – 12 minutes

A pineapple stings a child’s tongue, accompanied by a child’s perspective glimpsing tough family issues. (OdysseyFF 2024)

The Unseen by Wen Dao – China | 2023 – 16 minutes

Two children hope to travel to Shanghai to find their mother who abandoned them in a Chinese city. With other children who are also homeless, they scramble for food in the city and look for shelters to spend the cold night. Will they see their mother again? Featuring talented child actors with stunning performance, the short brings to the forefront the unseen “dark side” of modern cities undergoing rapid development. -Chris Lau. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024

For more information, please visit: https://www.odysseychinesecinema.uk/