Stone Turtle

An island serves as the setting for mystical rituals. ›Stone Turtle‹ tells of a woman’s quest for justice in a Malaysia where past and future are intertwined.

The turtle researcher Samad is unaware that humans live on this island, off Malaysia’s east coast, until he meets Zahara there. The woman in the red dress sells the reptiles’ eggs on the black market. She wants to afford a better life for her niece Nika. They have fled – from the mainland, from the family who killed Zahara’s sister, from Nika’s father. They deliberately chose to live on an island of ghosts rather than themselves be ghosts among people. But this island is ruled by mysterious laws. Samad’s search for his brother rouses the island from its slumber as if it were a sleeping creature. And it’s out for revenge.

In ›Stone Turtle‹, Woo Ming Jin combines elements from action, horror and animation films, and confuses our usual perception of time. A thrillingly mysterious film that combines allusive symbolism with concrete social critique.

Director