To Dive X Sex, “Lies” and Videotape
Line up: Rabbit Meets Crocodile, Modern Masturbation Allegory, Modern Masturbation Allegory, The Shuttle, Shall We Dance?, The Things I Have Never Told You
Open: 19:00 - 22:00 hrs
Tickets: € 8
This program takes Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) as an implicit point of reference—not to replicate its narrative framework, but to revisit a condition it incisively exposes: when sexuality is regulated, truth is deferred, and language fails, individuals turn to mediated forms—images, recordings, performances—to articulate what cannot be spoken in everyday life.
Across themes of coming-of-age, sexuality, faith, migration, racialized experience, and media memory, the selected works treat “sex” not as spectacle but as a site of tension, revealing conflicts between desire, identity, and social norms. “Lies” here do not signify deception in a moral sense, but rather the strategic silences, concealments, and self-censorship shaped by familial, cultural, and institutional constraints. “Videotape,” broadly understood, functions as an alternative confessional space—one in which suppressed experiences can momentarily surface.
LIST OF FILM:
Rabbit Meets Crocodile
Adapted from the short story White Rabbit Boy and Crocodile Girl included in the Macao short story collection Neon Restaurant, this film tells a coming-of-age story about an innocent boy who encounters a precocious girl.
(Duration: 04:27)
animation
trailer:https://youtu.be/Psyy3bODolU
Modern Masturbation Allegory
Xinyi, a 22-year-old woman, believes she has developed an addiction to masturbation and claims to have begun sensing certain ineffable and wondrous experiences. In a world where sex remains a taboo subject, she embarks on a solitary journey to collect stories of masturbation in search of others like herself. As her collection grows, masturbation gradually becomes a mirror—one that reflects the most authentic selves of those she encounters.
(Duration: 23:57)
anthropology
trailer:https://youtu.be/7ss3CrehFB8
The Shuttle
A Chinese nail salon owner in Los Angeles struggles with infertility while suspecting her husband of having an affair with a manicurist during his daily shuttle drives. When the shuttle arrives late once again, her doubts intensify, and she finally decides to confront him directly.
(Duration: 15:55)
fiction
trailer:https://youtu.be/q09I1G0Pj28?si=hkRpSrAFYnChQSdc
Shall We Dance?
‘The rhythm of a dance is like being in love.’ Hanni and Ziyou have a crush on one another that reaches the height of its intensity. Hanni is inseparably glued to Ziyou, taking care of everything in her life, but over a misunderstanding, Ziyou finds ways to avoid Hanni. Like a silent waltz, the two enter an unspoken game, going back and forth, one taking a step forwards as the other retreats. Can they ever share a brighter day?
(Duration: 06:34)
fiction
trailer:https://youtu.be/zPjJackku68?si=MVrL1DYti69Fyd-E
The Things I Have Never Told You
Through a chance encounter, Xinyi—a PhD candidate studying in Lisbon—begins her journey into stand-up comedy after growing frustrated with the rising discrimination and prejudice against Chinese people during the pandemic. This new identity, however, remains unknown to her family. Told from a first-person perspective, the film explores the connections and tensions between her on-stage persona and lived experiences, revealing the unseen struggles behind the laughter of a young Chinese female comedian. Xinyi’s story reflects the experiences of many immigrant women, who face the dual pressures of patriarchy and racism while searching for a place they can truly call their own.
(Duration: 19:33)
non-fiction
trailer:https://youtu.be/72nKe7Cc2fU
Footage Vestigiaux
In evolutionary biology, vestigial organs are those that have gradually lost their original function through adaptation, yet remain as evidence of evolution. Vestigial Tapes documents media forms from a pre-internet era—such as song request channels, gaming programs, and unlicensed advertising broadcasts. Though these television channels have long disappeared from history, they persist on videotapes as residual traces, bearing witness to the evolution of media and entertainment.
(Duration: 29:51)
experiment
trailer:https://youtu.be/q3B8QRUNQAA
18:00 - Doors Open:
18:30 - Film Start
