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DREAMING & DYING
​​​​by Nelson Yeo

77min | Singapore/Indonesia | 2023
​

Three middle aged friends reunite for the first time in years. Each of them sets out to confess unexpressed feelings but their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives threaten to resurface.

Original Title Hao jiu bu jian​
Year of production 2023
Length 77'
Country Singapore/Indonesia
Shooting Format Digital
Aspect Ratio 1:37:1
Dialogue Mandarin, English, Singlish
​
Director Nelson Yeo
Producers Si En Tan, Sophia Sim
Production Momo Film Co
Co-producer Yulia Evina Bhara
Co-production Kawankawan Media, Widewall Pictures
Screenwriter Nelson Yeo
Cinematographer Lincoln Yeo
Editor Armiliah Aripin
Production Manager Wendy Lie
Sound Design and Mixing Cheng Lijie
Art Directors Lou Shenna, Mark Chua, Lam Li Shuen
Costume Design Lou Shenna, Megan Lim
Post Production 
Eugene Seah 
Casting 
Sophia Sim
​Cast Doreen Toh, Peter Yu, Kelvin Ho
​
Festival selections
​​​Locarno Film Festival 2023, Switzerland - World Premiere, Pardo d'oro for Best Feature Film (Cineasti del Presente Competition), Swatch First Feature  Award
Tirana International Film Festival 2023, Albania -  Best PerspecTIFF Film Award
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2023
Sao Paulo International Film Festival 2023, Brazil
​Golden Rooster Film Festival 2023, China
​Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2023, Taiwan
Five Flavours Asian Film Festival 2023, Poland
​International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg 2023, Germany
Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2023, Indonesia - Special Mention
Singapore International Film Festival 2023 - Special Mention
Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2023, Thailand
El Gouna Film Festival 2023, Egypt
Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival 2024, UK
New Directors/New Films 2024, USA
Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival 2024, Vietnam
Cyprus Film Days International Festival 2024 - Special Jury Award
​Bellaria Film Festival 2024, Italy
Golden Ger International Film Festival 204, Mongolia
Costa Rica Festival Internacional de Cine 2024
Amman International Film Festival 2024, Jordan
​Malaysia International Film Festival 2024
Mulan International Film Festival 2024, Canada
Tingin Southeast Asian Festival 2024, Philippines
​DEBUT22 – Filmfestival Klosters 2024, Switzerland - Special Mention
​Baku International Film Festival 2024, Azerbaijan
Festifreak - La Plata International Independent Film Festival 2024, Argentina
Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival 2024, Philippines
Blue Chair Film Festival 2024, Laos
​​Dhaka International Film Festival 2025, Bangladesh
​Festival De Cine Global Santo Domingo 2025
​Filmfest Bremen 2025, Germany
​
Website
Momo Film Co

Directors' Statement
The English title, Dreaming and Dying, derives from zuì shēng mèng sǐ, a Chinese idiom which means leading a befuddled life as if drunk or in a dream.
The film explores the repressed emotions, desires and memories of three middle-aged friends who used to be really close in high school. When attending a school reunion in which no one else turned up, a long buried love triangle among them slowly resurfaces. 
Each of them longs for real human connection, but because of circumstances and societal restrictions then and now, they have never really confronted their repressed inner desires. This repercussion reverberates through the second half of the film when, two of the friends - the couple - set out on a day trip to fàng shēng (an old Buddhist tradition in which believers release fish into the wild to neutralise the karma they committed knowingly or unknowingly).
The wife believes that this superstitious act will cure the husband of his illness. Lost in the jungle, they are haunted by their own memories and desires, which they believe is a result of their past karma rippling through time.
​With Dreaming & Dying, I am primarily interested in exploring how we choose to remember things in our own ways, and as time passes, those fantasies sometimes become realities; the idea that certain things, however meaningless, can take on their own meaning over time.


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