Learning English
2024 · 11m · USA
Directed by Jean Liu
Genres: comedy
Tones: darkly comic, tender, whimsical
A newly arrived Chinese woman in the US, rejected by everyone she approaches for English practice, seizes on an unorthodox opportunity when a couple propositions her for a phone sex call — using the conversation as an unlikely English lesson.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Liu finds her entire argument in a single audacious situation — the film never stops surprising you while always knowing exactly where it is going.
Phone-sex call as ESL lesson — that's a logline with actual wit, not just "isn't this awkward." Eleven minutes, two performers, and Zine Tseng. I'm in.
Converting a phone-sex solicitation into an English lesson is the kind of pivot that earns its tonal whiplash if the writing is precise — Liu's argument about the gap between fluency and belonging through that specific channel is unsentimental and funny, and Zine Tseng can absolutely sell it.
Reviews
Learning English crafts a sharp comedy filled with heart, making it all the more compelling and delightfully funny.
Festivals
- SXSW 2024, Best Comedy Award (Salute Your Shorts)