Mermaid in the Garden of Escapism

Director: Mao Yu Lynn Yuan (IMDb: Mao Yu Lynn Yuan)

IMDb Public Film Page: Mermaid in the Garden of Escapism (Short, 2023)

Genre: Experimental Film

Key Words: Gender Equality, AI, Voice, Women, Mermaid

Status: Unreleased; Limited preview for film festivals

Festival Premiere Date: 25 May 2024

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Awards

Last Updated 15 March 2024

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2 Wins, 10 Nominations

 

Award Winner, Best First Time Director (Short), Vancouver International Movie Awards (2023) *formerly known as Vancouver Independent Film Festival

Award Winner, Best Canadian Film, CaCA/Canadian Cinematography Award (2023)

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Nominee, Best Cinematography, Canadian Independent Film Festival (2024)

Nominee, Best First Time Filmmaker, Berlin International Art Film Festival (2023)

Nominee, Best Narrative Short, Cannes Art Film Festival (2023)

Nominee, Best Narrative Short, LA Independent Film Channel Festival (2023)

Nominee, Best Indie Film, Toronto Indie Shorts (2023)

Nominee, Best Narrative Short, Art Film Spirit Awards (2023)

Nominee, Finalist, Best Director in Short Film, Boden International Film Festival (2023)

Nominee, Finalist, International Short Film, Robinson Film Festival (2023)

Official Selection, Short Film, Canada China International Film Festival (2023)

Official Selection, Best Independent Short Film, San Diego Art Film Festival (2023)

Official Selection, Short Film, International Diversity Film Festival (2023)

Honourable Mention, Short Film, The New York Independent Film Festival (2023)

Honourable Mention, Narrative Short Film, The Women's Independent Film & Television Festival (2023)

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Director's Notes​

 

“The mermaid is a special character in literature. I chose the poem "The Mermaid" (1830) by Lord Alfred Tennyson for the voiceover script, which ironically depicts how a beautiful-looking mermaid was chased by males on the land with male gazes in ancient times as a sexual object or as a symbolic social status trophy. A signature scene in the film is a beautiful-looking mermaid woman lying on a white picnic tablecloth in a man’s oversized white shirt without pants, as an ironic metaphor for imagination. Everyone may have a different perception of it. The inspiration originates from a Japanese custom, Nyotaimori, where food is served on a naked virgin female's body to please males. In that sense, the value of the mermaids is similar to a rare delicacy of gourmet food under male gazes with an expiration date or as a social trophy, like Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy (The Great Gatsby). Such obsession is deeply associated with appearance, social class, and values intangibly constructed in a patriarchal society, which creates demanding dialogues for gender equality.”

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"I don't like drawing boxes to limit the audience. Every scene in the film comes with unique reflective metaphors for the audience to imagine and explore with their perception. And that has a lot to do with their gender, culture, experience, and anything else that constructs their value. In the last movie scene, the mermaid woman is with herself in a garden of escapism away from reality, where values are not constructed externally but internally within herself. The jewellery, clothes, living spaces, and all other materials that once defined her identity to others turned out to be question marks to be reevaluated in her self-reflection looking in the mirror. The values are not a set of answers in my film but a question for the audience to explore by themselves."

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“Gender equality is not a noun but a verb for everyone to do something to make a difference in the communities. From the perspectives of seeing the world to a response to a relevant social issue, from women empowering women, or girls helping girls, to someone’s self-reflection on her values as a woman. All will lead to a better future for us.”

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“A woman in many circumstances, from the ancient times to the current days, is less likely to be seen with a voice to speak for herself. Today, we are fortunate to see female leaders in business, politics, education, and many other fields that used to be dominated by males only and exclude females in decision-making roles. And yet, those female voices are the ones who strive significantly hard for being in a position with a voice. Many women are still mental and physical victims of the patriarchal society without a voice. The skin colours, body shapes, personalities, dressing styles, and even occupations of women are commonly stereotyped.”

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