On the day of Chinese New Year, Ah Jing, a 7-year-old girl, invites a friend over for visitation unaware of how her simple kind gesture will later cause great distress for her mom.

A Viddsee Original Production

Director Statement: I was raised by a really “pantang-fearing” mom who will lash out at me when I shake my leg. Or slap my hand when I point at a temple idol.

Instead of instilling the fear-of-the-unknown in me, I grew up finding Chinese customs to be rather at odds with one another. We put up red signs to signal either a celebration or a funeral but why do the more superstitious folks cast more negative anxiety towards attending the latter?

I don’t think you will be given a red thread at a Catholic funeral for fear that something “unclean” will follow you home. In fact, why do we even need to see a Chinese funeral as being “unclean” or “pantang” at all in the first place?

This film is a look at the rules we unknowingly set for ourselves as we grow older and how a child who is blind to all such taboos is more clear to see what is wrong.