The setting is an office in a Fukuoka skyscraper. Junko has unsuccessfully undergone fertility treatment and recently gave up on the idea of having a child. A middle-aged woman, Shino, becomes puzzled at the sudden contact of her old boyfriend, who wants to see her again. Momo, who delivers lunch to their office, loves to talk about the dreams she has had. As is symbolized by the three different meanings of the Japanese word “hashi”: “bridge”, “chopsticks”, and “edge”, the film depicts the multiple faces of Japanese women through the three female characters who gather at the same office in Fukuoka.

Hashi is the first feature film by the director Sherman ONG . The film was shot while he was participating in the “Residence Program” at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. ONG selected 14 cast members through an audition and reflected their actual experiences in the script, completing all of the production process within three months of the program. Since the amateur cast were working in their own daily jobs and did not have much free time to work on the film, each character was played by several actors. Nevertheless, the method does not seem unnatural, rather it adds an intriguing atmosphere to the film. The director says that this film was also inspired by Luis Buñuel’s That Obscure Object of Desire. Another documentary-like film by ONG , Memories of a Burning Tree (2010), which was shot in Tanzania, was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Born in 1971, Sherman ONG began his career as a television director and is actively working as a photographer and installation artist, holding exhibitions all over the world. His works have been highly acclaimed at biennales and film festivals in many countries. Hashi won the Best Screenplay Award at the Singapore International Film Festival 2009. In recent years, ONG has been serving as the Artistic Manager of the Singapore International Photography Festival, and also as an educator at universities.

Official website：www.shermanong.com