Wherever you are, that is MY HEAVENLY CITY 有你在的地方，就是我的天堂城市

Press Release from illume films

MY HEAVENLY CITY IS A PLACE OF LOVE AND DREAMS…

Adapted from the award-winning short film "My Heavenly City" by Taiwan's new generation director Sen-I Yu.

Director Sen-I Yu lived in the city of New York for close to 20 years. To her, the city feels warm and cold at the same time, marked by her youthful aspirations and a deep longing to be happy. The director has always hoped to make a movie to express the beauty and sadness of life in New York City from the perspective of a foreigner.

My Heavenly City explores what a heavenly city is through the lens of the relationships between parents and child, husband and wife, and a caregiver for a child with mental illness. This movie is for anyone dealing with life’s challenges, trials and tribulations. Its objective is to encourage audiences watching the movie to reflect and grow.

改編自台灣新生代導演俞聖儀的得獎短片「我的天堂城市」。

旅居紐約近二十年的導演俞聖儀，許許多多的青春夢想，和幸福憧憬都在這個既熱情又冰冷的城市裡燃燒，和許多異鄉人一樣，在熙熙攘攘的城市人潮裡，在充滿壓力又十分孤獨的空氣裡呼吸，或無感地生存著，或快樂地掙扎著...。導演表示她一直都希望能拍一部電影是以異鄉人的觀點，訴說城市裡的美麗與哀愁。

「我的天堂城市」透過親子關係、夫妻關係、小孩本身患有疾病的照護，帶領觀眾探討，天堂城市是什麼？而自己所面對的人生挑戰又是什麼？家人的相處是壓力還是愛？促使觀眾在看電影同時，有所省思也有所成長。

Synopsis 故事大綱

Three stories, three struggles for survival, strung together in search of happiness. My Heavenly City uses three interconnected stories to explore the hopeful aspirations of new Asian immigrants moving to New York City – the city of their dreams. We follow a lonely young woman moving to the city to work as a Chinese-English translator, a young couple obsessed with hip-hop and parents dealing with a child with mental illness. They unknowingly influence each other as their paths cross, affecting each other in ways as they go about their lives.
「三段故事，三種求生存的掙扎，串成一個尋找幸福的過程。「我的天堂城市」以三個相連的故事，描述在紐約這個看似天堂的城市，亞裔新移民如何在困境裡找到希望。其中有寂寞的中英口譯員；迷上嘻哈的年輕戀人；及面對有心理疾病小孩的夫妻。他們在幻滅中默默地啟發彼此，繼續著生命的學習。

My Heavenly City Official Trailer

Release Date: 27 Oct. 2023

Vivian Sung 宋芸樺 as Mavis Fang 方智美

A lovelorn and impoverished foreign student, interpreting work opens her eyes to the suffering of others. Mavis is studying Sociology in New York and has been in the city for the last five years. Heartbroken and running out of money, Mavis falls into a depression. She is uncertain about her future in New York. In Taiwan, she was a top student at the National Taiwan University and jumped at the chance to be in New York – the bustling city of her dreams. Here, she began to realise how small she really was in the big city.

Vivian Sung 宋芸樺 is a well-known Taiwanese actress. In 2014, she made her debut starring in Café. Waiting. Love. In 2015, she starred in another youth campus movie Our Times which collected over NT$ 2.4 billion in the global box office and became popular in the Greater China market. She was also shortlisted for Best Actress at the 52nd Golden Horse Awards for this film and was affirmed as Best Newcomer Actress at the 24th Shanghai Film Critics Association Awards.

Keung To 姜濤 as Jack

A brilliant top student from Taiwan attending school in New York. Jack knows that he needs to work hard in this city for his future, but dance draws him and helps him cope with stress and loneliness. Jack from Taiwan is studying Multimedia Design in New York. He stays in Brooklyn, is shy and introverted. His parents call him often to ask if he has gotten that internship at a tech company yet, stressing him out. Chancing upon a group of dancers in the park in the middle of a hip-hop dance performance, he’s mood is instantly lifted.

Keung To 姜濤 is a popular member of MIRROR, a well-known boy band group from Hong Kong. He is a singer, dancer and actor. In 2018, he participated in the television reality talent show, Good Night Show - King Maker, emerged the winner, and became the hottest singer in Hong Kong. Since winning the competition, he has also begun his acting career, appear in may television series including Retire to Queen, We are the Littles, Love Before Birthday. In 2022, Keung To starred in the movie Mama’s Affair which was invited to multiple international film festivals and received four nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

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