Program Note
Having Liao Ming Yi’s debut feature, I WeirDo in the year of 2020 could be seen as both a stroke of luck and a misfortune for the film. A romance between two individuals with OCD, armed with masks, would undoubtedly be more intriguing than any other film at the height of pandemic. However, the pandemic itself might have become the black hole that consumed this movie; after all, everything was blamed on the virus. The man, struggling with his lover's obsession with cleanliness and control, dreams his way into a new relationship overnight but can't fully enjoy this new romance. With OCD, 100% iPhone shooting, and Austin Lin-Nikki Hsieh duo, Liao Ming Yi’s second film, Suffocating Love, naturally recalls its predecessor. But now that the shadow of the pandemic has lifted, it seems that OCD no longer belongs to weirdos only but has become an inescapable condition of life for all of us who desire relationships and contact while fearing wounds and isolation. Romance, then, appears to be a grand fantasy we long for but ultimately cannot attain. (Jin PARK)