Come dance with us! CinemaAsia and Queer East join forces once again to present a short film programme that showcases the power of the body. From London to Saigon, from Manila to Paris, and from dance floors to train carriages, this collection features works that explore different forms of movement in expressing love, desire, and anger, breaking through the boundaries of language, race, gender, and norms.

Omarm

Sara KERKLAAN | 2023 | 5′ | English | The Netherlands
Two dancers find themselves in a dance of struggles and suppressions as they fight their inner feelings towards each other. An intimate observation where different emotions find bodily expression and liberation, as they embrace their own desires and let go of all reservations.

Everybody’s Gotta Love Sometimes
Sein Lyan Tun | 2023  | 15 ‘ | English  | France, Myanmar, Indonesia
Two months after fleeing Myanmar, Phyo awaits for his asylum status to be granted in Paris with the hopes of starting a new life. Dreaming of romance and intimacy, he discovers the joy of dancing freely along the Seine. After a chance encounter with a man, however, the past continues to haunt Phyo and his desires.
Content warning: Racist slurs, discussions of sexual violence

Saigon Kiss
NGUYỄN Hồng Anh | 2024 | 22′ | English | Vietnam, Germany
Mơroams through the rush hour traffic to avoid an unwanted phone call. When she meets Vicky by the side of a street with her broken motorbike, a visceral chance encounter unfolds between the two young women on the loud streets of Saigon.

Midnight Rising
Aileen YE | 2024 | 8′ | English | United Kingdom
An intimate portrait of London’s East and South East Asian clubbing community, a world in which the allure of raving, extravagance, and hyperpop becomes an affirmation of love, acceptance, and joy. This world-within-a-world is instantly familiar, filled with ambitions, desires, and yearnings that reflect the joy and resistance of today.

When the House Lights Come On
Apa AGBAYANI | 2023 | 14′ | English | The Philippines
Set in the year 2044, a middle-aged man finds himself increasingly aging out of the Manila rave scene, parallel to the impending obliteration of the city. A chance encounter with a mischievous ex-lover at his last rave opens a history between these two men, forcing them to confront their past and future.

If You See Something That Doesn’t Look Right
WONG Ka Ki | 2023 | 5′ | English | Hong Kong, United Kingdom
Two drifting individuals from different worlds, both trying to heal their old wounds, encounter each other on the underground train. In the subterranean fleeting space, they connect through their fantasies about each other in this glittering dreamscape of quiet indulgences.