# A Land Imagined

A Land Imagined (Chinese: 幻土) is a 2018 neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Yeo Siew Hua. A Singapore-France-Netherlands co-production, the film tells the story of a police investigator who uncovers the truth behind the disappearance of a construction worker.
The film premiered in competition on 7 August 2018, at the 71st Locarno Film Festival, and won the top prize of the festival, the Golden Leopard. At Locarno, Yeo also won the Junior Jury award and a Special Mention award. In December 2018, A Land Imagined played in competition at the 29th Singapore International Film Festival, where it was named Best Asian Feature Film by a jury led by Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan. It is the first time a Singaporean film has won the award. The film was released in Singapore theatres on February 21, 2019. It was selected as the Singaporean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

## Plot

The film revolves around Lok, a police officer who is investigating the disappearance of a Chinese migrant worker working at a land reclamation site. The investigation leads him to the disappearance of another Bengali worker, who was on good terms with the missing worker. As he retraces the steps of the missing worker, Lok gets a sensing of the plight of these workers as they work for an unscrupulous employer.

## Cast

* Peter Yu as Lok
* Luna Kwok as Mindy
* Liu Xiaoyi as Wang
* Jack Tan as Jason
* Ishtiaque Zico as Ajit

## Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75%, based on 16 reviews. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

## Awards and nominations

| Festival | Date of ceremony | Award & Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 56th Golden Horse Awards | 23 November 2019 | Best Original Score | Teo Wei Yong | Won |
| 56th Golden Horse Awards | 23 November 2019 | Best Original Screenplay | Yeo Siew Hua | Won |
| 13th Asian Film Awards | 17 March 2019 | Best New Director | Yeo Siew Hua | Nominated |
| 12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 29 November 2018 | Achievement in Cinematography | Hideho Urata | Won |
| 12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 29 November 2018 | Young Cinema Award | Yeo Siew Hua | Won |
| 2nd El Gouna Film Festival | 28 September 2018 | El Gouna Gold Star - Feature Narrative Competition | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 12th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival | 21 November 2018 | Best Film - New Asian Cinema Competition | A Land Imagined | Nominated |
| 26th Filmfest Hamburg | 5 October 2018 | NDR Young Talent Award | Yeo Siew Hua | Nominated |
| 55th Golden Horse Film Festival | 17 November 2018 | NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film | A Land Imagined | Nominated |
| 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival | 1 April 2019 | Firebird Award - Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) | A Land Imagined | Nominated |
| 71st Locarno International Film Festival | 11 August 2018 | Golden Leopard - International Competition | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 71st Locarno International Film Festival | 11 August 2018 | Junior Jury Award - International Competition | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 71st Locarno International Film Festival | 11 August 2018 | Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 71st Locarno International Film Festival | 11 August 2018 | Best Actress - Boccalino d’Oro Award | Luna Kwok | Won |
| 3rd London East Asia Film Festival | 4 November 2018 | Special Jury Mention | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 2nd Nepal International Film Festival | 27 February 2019 | Best International Feature Film, Gautam Buddha Award | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 2nd Pingyao International Film Festival | 17 October 2018 | Jury Prize - Roberto Rossellini Awards | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 6th QCinema International Film Festival | 30 October 2018 | Pylon Best Picture - Asian Next Wave Competition | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam | 2 February 2019 | Special Mention - Youth Jury Award | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 29th Singapore International Film Festival | 8 December 2018 | Best Film - Asian Feature Film Competition | A Land Imagined | Won |
| 29th Singapore International Film Festival | 8 December 2018 | Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award | Yeo Siew Hua | Won |
| 29th Singapore International Film Festival | 8 December 2018 | Swarovski Inspiring Woman in Film Award | Luna Kwok | Won |
| 63rd Valladolid International Film Festival | 27 October 2018 | Best Director of Photography | Hideho Urata | Won |
| 63rd Valladolid International Film Festival | 27 October 2018 | Golden Spike Award for Best Film | A Land Imagined | Nominated |