Leste Chen’s final Taiwan production is an emotionally searing drama about friendship and longing, with a resonance only glimpsed at in his recent Mainland China-produced high concept thrillers and rom-com remakes. Straight-A student Jonathan (Bryant Chang) is forced by his junior high-school teacher to befriend rebellious underachiever Shane (Joseph Chang Hsiao-chuan). But instead of raising Shane’s scores, Jonathan sees his own academic achievements tumble. Ten years later, their friendship is tested by the return of former classmate Carrie (Kate Yeung). This deftly told love triangle courses on waves of sexual confusion and self-destruction, bursting with moments of devastatingly brutal honesty.

Presented with the support of the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York