Eggs

荔枝椿象

IN COMPETITION

A migrant couple from Vietnam, A Li and A Mai, fall in love in Taiwan, but A Mai’s pregnancy turns her into a burden to her employer, forcing them into cash-in-hand work to survive. As A Mai’s nears childbirth, they face a police raid, driving them to flee to the mountains teeming with lychee stink bugs, yet they remain trapped in a fate of isolation and despair. The director sheds light on the plight of “lost-contact migrant workers” in official records. Through A Li’s story, the film uses the lychee stink bug - an invasive pest in Taiwan - as a metaphor for marginalised individuals who are stigmatised and forced to confront a fragmented and precarious reality. With realistic imagery, the film powerfully captures the tragedy of those living as outsiders in a foreign land. -Qi Wu. Co-lead Curator of Odyssey 2024