PORCUPINE

NHÍM

Nicolas GRAUX and TRƯƠNG MINH Quý
Belgium, Singapore, Vietnam • 2023 • 13 min. • 16mm & HD • Experimental Fiction

Nicolas GRAUX and TRƯƠNG MINH Quý
Belgium, Singapore, Vietnam • 2023 • 13 min. • 16mm & HD • Fiction / Experimental

SYNOPSIS

In an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Brussels, strangers come and go while ghosts linger. Among the shards of glass, a young streamer performs a live sex show for an online subscriber. Under the same dilapidated roof, an old woman lights a fire and drinks her sorrows away in the room where her husband stayed until he died. A chance encounter between these two lonely beings will unleash a flood of memories and virtual data. But real-life connections are scarce, and mutual consolation seems a distant dream.
Porcupines are said to gather on cold winter days to share body heat with their fellows, but ultimately injure each other with their quills. How is it that our slightest attempts at intimacy so often see us retreating once more into solitude?

TRAILER

AWARDS

Jury Prize for the Best Artistic Contribution to Nicolas Graux and Trương Minh Quý
Pink Screens Brussels Queer Film Festival. Belgium (2023)

FESTIVALS & ALTERNATIVE SCREENINGS

IFFR International Film Festival Rotterdam | Short and Medium-Length Programme. Netherlands (2023)
Rio LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. Brazil (2023)
Lago Film Fest, Festival Internazionale di Cinema Indipendente. Italy (2023)
Marienbad Film Festival. Czech Republic (2023)
GAZE International LGBTQ+ Film Festival | Programme “Lucid Notions” Curated by AEMI. Ireland (2023)
Bangalore Queer International Film Festival. India (2023)
Festival de Cinéma de la Ville de Québec. Canada (2023)
25FPS International Experimental Film and Video Festival. Croatia (2023)
Encounters Film Festival. UK (2023)
Pugnant Film Series, Athens. Greece (2023)
Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival. Norway (2023)
WNDX Festival of Moving Image. Canada (2023)
Intersección, Contemporary Audiovisual Art Festival. Spain (2023)
Singapore International Film Festival. Singapore (2023)
BISFF Beijing International Short Film Festival. China (2023)
Saigon Experimental Film Festival. Vietnam (2024)
Filmfest Dresden International Short Film Festival. Germany (2024)
AIFVF Athens International Film + Video Festival. United States (2024)
Festival des Cinémas Différents et Expérimentaux de Paris. France (2024)

CREW

DIRECTORS & SCREENWRITERS
Nicolas GRAUX, TRƯƠNG MINH Quý

PRODUCER
Julie FRERES

CO-PRODUCER
GUO Xiao-dong

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Gaëlle BALTHASART

PRODUCTION TEAM
Edern GONDA
Stéphane LAMBERT
Agnese POZZOLI
Young GANS
Anissa EL HAMRI

CAST
TRƯƠNG MINH Quý
Nicole BONEW
Anne-Marie LOOP (voice)

CINEMATOGRAPHER
Thomas SCHIRA

CAMERA ASSISTANT
Valentine MOREL

GRIP
Santiago BONILLA

EDITOR
MINH Chương

SOUND EDITORS
Thomas FERRANDO
Arnaud SOULIER

SOUND MIXER/DESIGNER
Arnaud SOULIER

COLORIST
Paul MILLOT

PRODUCED BY
Dérives, Levo films

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
New Asian Filmmakers Collective

WORLD SALES & FESTIVALS
María VERA & Zyanya CASTILLA
(Kino Rebelde)