25th New York Asian Film Festival

July 10-26, 2026

Photo: © Umbrella Ma’am Studio / Flamingo in the Garden

New York Premiere

Flamingo in the Garden

Inspired by director Xinhui Ma’s own life experience, this animated short film follows a young Chinese woman confined to a hospital bed in Morocco after a surfing accident. Isolated by language barriers, physical pain, and the unfamiliarity of her surroundings, she begins to find comfort in the garden outside her window. Blending personal memory, surreal imagery, and reflections on gender, sexuality, and cultural displacement, the film turns a period of recovery into a dreamlike emotional journey. The Girl moves from a morphine-induced fantasy world into a darker inner landscape, gradually reconnecting with her body and reclaiming herself after physical trauma. Through this process, she confronts dependency, vulnerability, and desire, and finally reaches a sense of freedom.

Director: Xinhui Ma
Producers: Xinhui Ma, Yishi Wang, Siyi Chen, Kim Yuan Xu
Screenwriter: Xinhui Ma
Cast: Erika Huey Shiun Tan, MHD YASER JAMAL
Languages: English, Arabic, Chinese with English Subtitles
2025; 13 min.; DCP
Country: USA

SCHEDULE:

Friday July 10, 4:00pm
Film at Lincoln Center

This program of short films includes Jen Nee Lim’s Buah (Fruit), Yijian Shan’s Si Shui (Still Water), Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Romero’s Agapito, Xinhui Ma’s Flamingo in the Garden, Linjie Sheng’s A Dream Like a Dream, Soojeong Son’s Cecilia is Only Eight Years Old, and Sari Arambulo’s Cookie, Love.