No. 7 Cherry Lane

Yonfan’s vibrant and erotic animated film about youthful obsessions utilizes a remarkable new process that turns 3D illustrations into 2D images. Set in 1967 Hong Kong, when students protested British colonial rule, the story offers the remembrances of Fan Ziming, who finds himself sexually involved with Meiling, the lovely 18-year-old he’s hired to tutor, as well as her well-to-do mother, Mrs. Yu. The latter relationship develops during trips to the cinema, as the character (and, by extension, Yonfan himself) indulges a reverent cinephilia.

“As entrancingly singular as it is steeped in pastiche, this frequently dream-distracted vision of young love against the turmoil of the 1967 Hong Kong riots practically defies critics not to resort to that hoarily overused term ‘valentine to cinema’… meanwhile, the film’s unusual technique alone makes it essential viewing.” –Guy Lodge, Variety