Between desire, confusion and a fractured past,
Lulu begins to see that nothing is quite what it seems.
Technical Details | Mei Mei | Short Film
| Original Title: | 美美 (Mei Mei) |
| International Title: | Mei Mei |
| Directed by: | Xu Xiaoxi |
| Produced by: | Mariely D’Apollo, Ana Menéndez |
| Cinematography: | Roberto F. Canuto |
| Music: | Andrea Centazzo |
| Cast: | Janet Chiara, Nima Dabestani, Alexandra Smothers, Kjord Davis, Alex Aguila, Gudmundur Lúðvík Þorvaldsson, Miles Wood |
English Spanish, English, French
fiction, drama mystery, LGBTIQ+, rural
DCP · Digital HD · 1.85:1 · 2.0
Synopsis
Mei Mei follows Lulú, a high-end sex worker who receives frequent visits from her neighbor Julian, a man convinced she is his missing ex-girlfriend, Mei Mei. Desperate for a second chance, he insists on their connection, but Lulú dismisses him, assuming he is fabricating the story to win her over.
After a period without seeing him, she begins to miss him. One day, she discovers that Julian has found the real Mei Mei—someone who bears a striking resemblance to her.
Commentary
Mei Mei is a Chinese–American short film directed by Xu Xiaoxi and written by Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi during their MFA studies at the New York Film Academy (Hollywood).
Shot on Super 16 mm with the support of Kodak and CCI, the film blends Chinese sensibility with American independent cinema to create an intimate and poetic work about desire, loneliness, and self-perception. Through the duality of two identical women—Lulú and Mei Mei—the film explores how experience and trauma shape identity and destiny.
Premiering at the Slow Film International Film Festival (Hungary, 2010), the short film was also nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2009 Kodak Scholarship Awards, representing the New York Film Academy in Hollywood.
Festivals & Nominations
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