SYNOPSIS

​​T is a troubled young non-binary Taiwanese, succumbing to addictive substances, who has chosen heroine to overcome their grief. T runs into Shui an innocent seller of Betel Nuts with a tense relationship with her father, a famous Taoist exorcist who wants to extract the spirits that make her the way she is. At this juncture, through this encounter, and a solid friendship with Big Sister 13, an exiled Kung Fu master from Hong Kong, who lives with HIV/AIDS. In a web of desires, neon lights and songs, together they will fight against the destructive presence of addiction, a sinister creature and a pro-family terrorist group. They will learn how to care for one another, exorcizing a haunted past and flowing into the immensity of love.

Love is the most powerful tool for an exorcism.”

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STYLISTIC APPROACH

T speak to us “I’ve found myself here, like a blind man thrown into the ocean.” The First Kiss of The Night is a dream-memory. An enigmatic dreamscape of the island of Formosa-Taiwan. Blends a musical lesbian drama, neon-infused tech-noir, stories of exile and belonging, fighting for care across bodies and borders. The First Kiss of The Night is about how the trauma writes into our bodies, and how by building community/ ecosystems of liberation and building new families/care constellations we can restore our inner map of the world. Interweaves personal mythologies and collective memory.

CREATIVE STATEMENT

​This is a deeply personal project, an unusual cinematic experience, that suggests possibilities for change and empowerment, which is why I believe in its power to impact and its universal significance. With the evocation of lives lived on the margins, excluded from power and agency in the healing of their own communities. Celebrates marginalized people whose stories have not been told. Neglected, silenced histories where methods of survival are a common denominator, inspired by the wisdom that vulnerable communities use to survive and fight back. I am interested in the possibilities of film as well as the creation of innovative expressions, challenging our common myths and preconceptions about people who use drugs, mental illness, and queer intimacy.

"T is escaping from a sinister creature, an otherworldly force, at their darkest hour. They find refuge in Shui and in the friendship with Big Sister 13. Together they will fight against the forces that shattered them and will discover the true power of love."

T (27 years old)
​Played by Win GONG

​T (Short name for Tun Tun) They/Them. Taiwanese. With a rough aspect, fierce but at the same time tender. After being homeless, T found refuge in heroin. For some time they has felt that someone is following them, a sinister creature. What they want most in this world is to stop being afraid of the monster that chases them. 

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SHUI (23 years old)
Played by Sharlene Ku

She is a very beautiful woman, innocent in appearance. Shui enjoys reading and loves to sing. Her mother died when she was born. She has a chaotic relationship with her father, Mr. Lee, a famous Taoist exorcist who wants to change her at all costs, since he knows she is a lesbian. She hates selling Betel Nuts. What she wants most in this world is to be loved completely. Through the love she feels for T, she will learn to love herself. She has always felt that she is not enough, and she feels guilty for her mother's death.

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BIG SISTER 13 (49 years old)
Played by Missy Hyper

She is an exiled modern Kung Fu master from Hong Kong. She leads a gang, lives with HIV/AIDS and drives a car decorated in neon guerrilla style. She has impeccable taste in fashion. Thanks to the friendship with Shui and T, she will discover that she can find love in the most unexpected places, and that although she is very independent and successful, she still has the need for love. What she wants most is to find a supernatural love. Despite having different relationships with their gang members, she doesn't feel like it's real love since her partner Z died.

WRITTEN, DIRECTED AND PRODUCED by
J TRIANGULAR

​Experimental Filmmaker. Colombia Born, Taiwan Based. I am interested in resistance devices from the heart of the community, ghosts, and memory; belonging in collectivity and reparative gestures; art actions. My work reflects on queer spaces, mental health, identity and consciousness, and HIV activism. Cinema as a social practice. Cinema as a place of freedom. My work has been shown widely in Asia, Europe, Oceania as well as North and Latin America. Recently in Documenta 15, and in Museums such as the New Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Whitney Museum, among many others and galleries such as Sate of concept in Athens, Greece.

WHY MAKE THIS MOVIE?

Are you also haunted by despair, pain, confusion and loneliness?

After various projects with Visual Aids, such as a web series called “The Whole World is Watching” and for Day with(out) art the collaborative documentary project Hope Drops, many music videos and experimental short films. I have been collecting stories of women living with HIV and lesbian love songs. This is not the typical queer story, it is a unique story that talks about love from a fresh and original perspective. A lesbian musical with a team made up of talented creators from Taiwan and Colombia.

​Taiwan and the world need lesbian movies that are not just about coming out, this is a story that talks about the deep traumas that haunt you, and how love can be that force that makes you heal.

We would love that you be part of this journey!

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