Là-bas
2026 · 2m
Directed by Vincent Ching
Genres: coming-of-age, drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic
Vincent, an international student, had to leave his island to pursue his dream — but something is missing, and his outlook darkens.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A two-minute international student malaise story—the premise alone feels like every other festival circuit sob story, and I'd bet money the execution doesn't subvert the melancholy-coming-of-age template enough to justify my attention.
The melancholic register is well-trodden territory in diaspora cinema, and without evidence of formal innovation or dialogue with a clear lineage, this reads as sincere but structurally conventional.
Two minutes to locate a homesickness story that *works* means Ching made one or two choices—maybe a sound design decision that collapses distance, or a single performance moment that catches the specificity of exile—and that's where the film lives or dies, so I'm watching for what that single thing is.