Ayu (Mia Sabrina Mahadir) works for Cecilia (Lim Mei Fen) at her family's furniture store. But there is something else going on in their relationship, and over lunch break, the two play out a wild, sexual game that exposes their power dynamic. When the employee makes a simple mistake – forgetting the chili sauce in her boss’ order – it unleashes a situation that reveals the true nature of their roles. In Mop, writer/director Joon Fong Goh paints a gripping portrait of a complicated and twisted sadomasochistic relationship between two women, whose workplace hierarchy is established by pushing the limits of his concept and playing with the audience’s expectations. Goh confessed that the core idea of the film came from his children, who used him first as a chair, and later other pieces of furniture, when they were playing. “I thought it could be an interesting metaphor for the ways we are dependent on each other, and the ways we use each other”, he explained. Adding that he believes “every relationship is sadomasochistic” and that “we hurt each other” and “love each other”. A realization that prompted him to capture this ever evolving shift in power dynamics, using a tangible metaphor to depict them in a way that is both delightfully twisted and effective. “I wanted to make visible the invisible, and bring to the surface all the messy, fucked up things we do to each other”, he adds.
Director: Joon Goh
Writer: Joon Goh
Stars: Mia Sabrina Mahadir, Mei Fen Lim