Sleep with Your Eyes Open

A coastal city in Brazil. Kai arrives on holiday from Taiwan with a broken heart. A malfunctioning air conditioner leads her to end up in Fu Ang’s umbrella shop. He could become a friend, but then the rainy season fails to arrive and the shop closes. While searching for Fu Ang, Kai comes across Xiao Xin and a group of Chinese workers in a fancy high-rise building. Kai finds herself strangely mirrored in Xiao Xin’s story. This quiet comedy of misunderstandings does not follow a traditional dramaturgy. The protagonists, performed by an ensemble of first-time actors and professionals, come and go unexpectedly. From one unknown city to the next, they follow the demands of their work. But over the course of a hot, slow summer, delicate bonds grow between them like islands in a sea full of sharks. (Berlinale)