Family can be a prison. What can a young person growing up in an increasingly rapid world desire, other than simply being accepted for who he or she is? In this story I want to explore the way that our outer and inner pressures are informing who we are - told through the eyes of a young man in search of answers.
What Markus feels for Ah-Wei allows him to be truthful. At the same time Ah-Wei represents a danger, which again in itself bears an attraction to Markus. I am fascinated by the idea of these very contrasting extremes, placed within a universal love story set in East and West, that takes us from European suburbia all the way to the mountains of Taiwan. Only at the very end, in a place totally foreign to him and confronted by the forces of nature, is Markus able to disconnect from his demons as he begins to define himself.
I would like to create a film that switches boldly between intense emotional impact and gentle moments. A visceral, cinematic experience to literally make us feel the protagonist’s pain on his journey towards simplicity.