The Third Wife(HKAFF 2018)

NETPAC Award, Toronto International Film Festival

As arranged for her, May becomes the third wife of a wealthy landowner at the age of 14. She is soon pregnant, hopefully with a male heir who can secure her status. Under the sisterly guidance of the other two wives, the naive girl learns and tries to find her place within the complex family dynamics. However, beneath the calm lies a storm: May discovers a secret affair and begins to develop forbidden desires of her own. Set in rural Vietnam in the 19th century, Ash Mayfair’s stirring directorial debut crafts a visually and emotionally rich tale about coming of age, sexual awakening and a young woman’s struggle to find herself in a patriarchal world.