A Fish Out of Water(HKAFF 2017)

Haunted by an image in his memory, five-year-old Yi-an asks his parents to take him to the fishing village where his parents from his past life lived. Already burdened with the failing health of Yi-an’s grandfather, the parents are now worried that their son is suffering from psychosis as the crises begin to take a toll on their marriage. A longtime music video and commercial director, Lai Kuo-An channels the works of New Taiwan Cinema – including former collaborator Hou Hsiao-hsien – in his ethereal feature film debut. An insightful family drama with a hint of magical realism, this film is a quirky, offbeat portrait of the complexity of family dynamics and the mysterious nature of memory.