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Silent Sparks

Directed by Ping Chu2024Taiwan79 mins

Pua (Akira Huang) is released from prison and sets out on a singular mission: to help support his mother. Circumstances force Pua to re-enter a world of small-time organized crime doing menial tasks for a gangster boss. But Pua also hopes to get close to his former cellmate Mi-ji (Shih Ming-shuai). Once he is able to meet him again, Mi-ji immediately proves distant and dismissive to this familiar underling. Slowly, as Mi-ji’s hard exterior begins to thaw and their romance is rekindled, the dangers of a life of crime begin to intensify.

With graceful, confident storytelling, Pua’s journey becomes one of intertwined economic and emotional needs. Effectively fusing romance into a slick neo-noir, Silent Sparks spins a tale of deep longing in an unexpected milieu, capturing a sumptuous beauty in the night streets where the possibility of risk and romance go hand-in-hand.

Preceded by:

Like What Would Sorrow Look

18 mins

A young auditor, a propagandist, and a foreign teacher untangle their lives within the confines of a faculty dormitory in China.

Streaming Note: The preceding short film Like What Would Sorrow Look will not be available to stream. Silent Sparks can be streamed anywhere in the United States.

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Sponsor
Original Language Title
愛作歹
Director
Ping Chu
Year
2024
Country
Taiwan
Running Time
79 mins
Language
Mandarin
Cast/Participants
Akira Huang, Shih Ming-shuai, Fan Jui-Chun, Cheng Chih-Wei, Hu Wei-Jei
Section
Narrative Features
Program Note Writer
Chris Feil
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