Sleep with Your Eyes Open
Schedule
Overview
In a coastal city in Brazil—Fu Ang, Kai, and Xiaoxin rarely meet in this quiet comedy of misunderstandings. But over the course of a hot, slow summer, delicate bonds grow between them, like islands in a sea full of sharks.
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Review
This film was co-produced by Germany, Brazil, Taiwan, and Argentina. The director, originally from Germany, had been living in Argentina for a long time. The main characters are from Taiwan and China, whose lives revolve around the coastal areas of Recife, a resort city in Brazil. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, who has ties to the JEONJU International Film Festival, appears in the film as a foreign worker. The combination of these strange and unique elements is intricately linked to the vibrant essence of life within the film. These characters, living far from their homeland where the language and culture are completely different, eke out a living by trading goods from all corners of the world, much like their own existence. Umbrellas, assorted tools, postcards—these goods are intertwined with a life that is always on the move, never settling, and sees the possibility of these immigrants of diasporas finally closing their eyes, hoping to find comfort in settling down and drifting off to sleep. (Sung MOON)
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Credit
- DirectorNele WOHLATZ
- ProducerEmilie LESCLAUX, Kleber Mendonça FILHO, Justine O., Roger HUANG, Violeta BAVA, Rosa Martínez RIVERO, Meike MARTENS, Nele WOHLATZ
- ScreenplayNele WOHLATZ, Pío LONGO
- CinematographyRoman KASSEROLLER
- Production DesignDiogo HAYASHI
- EditorYann-shan TSAI, Ana GODOY
- SoundJavier FARINA
- CastCHEN Xiao Xin, WANG Shin-Hong , LIAO Kai Ro, Nahuel Pérez BISCAYART, LU Yang Zong
Film Source
GLOBAL SCREEN⎜Lucrecia.Magnanini@globalscreen.de
Director
Nele WOHLATZ
Writer and director. Born in Germany, she moved to Argentina in 2009, where she directed the short films La mochila perfecta (2014), Tres oraciones sobre la Argentina (2016) and co-directed the feature film Ricardo Bär (2013). Her solo debut El futuro perfecto (2016) was awarded as the best first feature at the Locarno International Film Festival. At the border between documentary and fiction, her work draws connections between language and film language. Her new feature Sleep with Your Eyes Open premiered at Berlinale and received a FIPRESCI award for the best film in the Encounters section.
