Set in the idyllic hills of northern California, Jennifer Phang’s marvelously original first feature, HALF-LIFE, is a supernormal tale about self-absorbed and disillusioned suburbanites who live in a futuristic time of natural disasters, suffocating air quality, and accelerating global cataclysms.

Single mom Saura Wu (Julia Nickson-Soul) and her two kids, Pam (Sanoe Lake) and Timothy, struggle to rebuild their family in the presence of a sinister, but charming, interloper. Pam seeks refuge in the company of her object of desire, a young hipster named Scott (Leonardo Nam, AMERICAN PASTTIME AAIFF07); Scott, in turn, attempts to jar his fundamentalist parents out of their steadfast denial of his gay identity. Timothy, meanwhile, stumbles upon a way to develop and hone paranormal powers that he uses to alter everyone’s reality.

Modern and philosophical, HALF-LIFE masterfully blends brooding menace with the tender vulnerability of youth to create a tale that injects an empowering and enduring hope in the face of a family's fatalistic fears of a disintegrating world. An ambitious visual accomplishment filled with handcrafted animation, expertly concocted faux news reports, and spectacular cinematography, this auspicious directorial debut is without precedent and firmly establishes Jennifer Phang as an exciting talent to watch.
—Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival ‘08

Jennifer Phang will be in attendance.

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