A curation of short films by Phoo Myet Che, Pearl on the WIFP 2025 theme of 'What We Carry'
Fri 3 Oct 2025, 7.30pm – 10pm (the screening will run from 7.30pm to 9pm, followed by a DJ set after)
Venue: Chapel Gallery, Objectifs
Rating: NC16 (Some Mature Content and Nudity)
Ticket prices (per screening programme)
Single concession ticket (student) – $8 (please note that ID may be verified at the door)
Single general ticket – $10
Pair general tickets – $18
Watch All 3 Programmes Package!
Single concession ticket (student) – $20 (please note that ID may be verified at the door)
Single general ticket – $25
This screening weaves together five short films by women, trans, and non-binary filmmakers who reside along or have created work across the Mekong’s reach – from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China.
The river is the common thread that ties these films together, often appearing visually as bodies of water that ebb and flow, and metaphorically alluding to the latent potential of what the future may hold. The Mekong becomes a vessel for layered histories, folklores, rituals, and desires, flowing through a cinematic cartography shaped by the personal and collective experiences of the filmmakers.
These stories are accompanied by rich aural landscapes, including soulful Isaan tunes, traditional Khmer instrumentals, Vietnamese folk singing and opera traditions such as Xẩm and Chèo, Miao singing, and Burmese love songs from the 1990s.
Camp! and its sensibilities manifest in these films, not just as an aesthetic but as a strategy for yearning, survival, and imagining of radical futures. They invite you to take refuge in the tender warmth of the river that runs far and wide.
– Phoo Myet Che, Pearl, Programme Curator
This screening is part of Objectifs’ annual Women in Film and Photography showcase.
Following the film screening, join us for a special DJ set by Bbaloo that echoes the spirit of Camp! Along the Mekong River, blending melodies from the film with a curated mix of sonic textures from South Asia. This is an invitation to unwind and move to the currents of the river. Come in your best gorpcore attire and be prepared to flow to an evening of beats with us!
Click on the following links to find out more and buy tickets for the other Women in Film screenings:
Carnival of Solitude: The World of Qiu Miaojin
Siamese Futurism by Montika Kham-on / 8min 40 sec (Thai/Isan with English subtitles)
This music video re-images the prophecies of the Phibun rebellion as futuristic vision for Isaan in order to reverse the stereotypical ‘backward’ temporality assigned to the region and its people. Drawing from the motifs of science fiction, it highlights the Isaan people’s centuries-old, revolutionary imagination
envisioning Thailand’s future.
鳄鱼手记 (Notes of a Crocodile) by Daphne Xu / 17min 49 sec (Mandarin with English subtitles)
Borrowing the title from Qiu Miaojin’s cult classic queer novel, the film follows a Chinese woman who wanders through the streets of Phnom Penh and treads along the Mekong River in search of a lost friend after hearing the news of a half-constructed building full of crocodiles.
The Tale of Tran Thanh Duong by Hachul Le Do / 8min 30 sec (Vietnamese with English subtitles)
In a world where men are fish and women are shrimp, the birth of a new species emerges.
Drawing inspiration from Vietnamese folklore and traditional musical theatre, this cross-temporal film tells a story of the birth of an odd—Trần Thanh Dương, swimming against binaries with the spirit of a mythic species that doesn’t quite fit anywhere—a fictional reimagining of Saint Gióng. Little Gióng stretched himself and transformed into a mighty warrior of over a dozen feet tall with an awe-inspiring presence. Gióng’s stretching is a traditional motif of folk literature: the desire to transform.
The Xẩm, Chèo-singing-influenced score prompts a conversation about the duality of identities: Which body of water carries that which isn’t fish or shrimp?
Invocation by Lu Lu / 25min 46 sec (Mandarin with English subtitles)
Gurong follows her mother, Dan Ping, to a remote mountain village seeking a cure for a mysterious illness. Unexpected changes occur in her body during the process, as the surrounding environment and the attitude of her mother compel her to rethink the meaning of her life.
JuJu vs The Possibilities of Life, Love and Death by Htet Aung Lwyn / 15min 36 sec (Burmese with English subtitles)
JuJu, a Burmese trans girl, works at an independent cinema in Bangkok. A chance encounter leads to a series of conversations speculating on future possibilities, imagined through the language of film.
About the filmmakers:
Montika Kham-on (Samut Prakan, Thailand) is a Video Artist and Filmmaker. She explores collective fear, unconventional futures not dictated by major institutions, but by the nuanced struggles of outcast identities. Kham-on is also interested in fields that work with the body, from theatre to dance. She strives to incorporate said fields with moving images to grapple with what is beyond the boundaries of language.
Daphne Xu (Canada/China) is an artist and filmmaker who explores the politics and poetics of place. Her works unfurl from cities in flux; they are concerned with the interior lives of women and diasporic subjects caught in moments of rapid modernization. Xu’s films suspend normative narrativity to reflect the unknowability of the now, seeking associative meaning over explanation. They have premiered at festivals and institutions including Toronto International Film Festival, Museum of Modern Art, Visions du Réel, and Cinéma du Réel. She began making films in 2018 as a Film Study Center Fellow at Harvard University, where she is an affiliate of the Sensory Ethnography Lab.
Hachul Le Do (b.2000, HCMc) is an artist primarily recognised as an animation filmmaker. He is also a poet, an illustrator, a sculptor, and a mixed reality creator. Hachul likes cats and spirituality. He cares about time, culture, transgenderism, queer expression, and disability rights.
Lu Lu is an award-winning director with a diverse career spanning both directing and art department roles. Her work on Invocation (2024) earned her semi-finalist for Student Academy Award in the narrative category, as well as recognition at the London Breeze Film Festival (BIFA-Qualifying) in the international short fiction category.
After graduating from London Film School with a master’s degree in filmmaking, she formed a strong background across various media and professional experience with working on numerous film projects, including short films and feature films. Her work explores how traditional narratives can be reimagined through cinema as vivid metaphors for contemporary issues, with a focus on telling stories from underrepresented and deeply personal perspectives.
Htet Aung Lwyn is a Bangkok-based Burmese queer filmmaker striving to create stories for their younger self.
About the curator:
Phoo Myet Che, Pearl is a Singapore-based arts and cultural worker originally from Myanmar. She has contributed to the local arts scene through programming, writing, and community engagement with various organisations and collectives. Pearl was part of the team behind Short Circuit, a film festival spotlighting queer short films. Her writing, featured in platforms like the Asian Film Archive and 3-Act Magazine, explores cinema, identity, and regional histories. She wishes to collaborate on more projects that foster dialogue and cultural exchange through the arts.
About Bbaloo:
Sampling past and future, traversing subcontinent and archipelago, BBbaloo blends diasporic beats with euphoric sounds, in a cauldron of chaotique bliss. The dance floor is lit, the soul is afire, drink the potion of emotion, embrace your desire.
For the rest of our Women in Film and Photography 2025 programme, click here.