Sleep with Your Eyes Open
by Nele Wohlatz
World premiere at 74. Berlinale
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.
With
Chen Xiao Xin (Xiao Xin)
Wang Shin-Hong (Fu Ang)
Liao Kai Ro (Kai)
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (Leo)
Lu Yang Zong (Yang Zong)
Crew
Director Nele Wohlatz
Screenplay Nele Wohlatz, Pío Longo
Cinematography Roman Kasseroller
Editing Yann-shan Tsai, Ana Godoy
Sound Design Mercedes Tennina, Duu-Chih Tu
Sound Javier Farina
Production Design Diogo Hayashi
Costumes Rita Azevedo
Producers Emilie Lesclaux, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Justine O., Roger Huang, Violeta Bava, Rosa Martínez Rivero, Meike Martens, Nele Wohlatz
Executive Producers Dora Amorim, Maurício Macedo