Eve and the Fire Horse

Julia Kwan’s Sundance award-winning film Eve and The Fire Horse has been restored for its 20th anniversary in 2026 – auspicious timing, as the Year of the Fire Horse only comes every 60 years. 

Phoebe Jojo Kut and Hollie Lo play young sisters in the 1970s raised in a superstitious Chinese Canadian family that believes both good deeds and accidental mishaps can greatly affect one’s luck. 

Nine-year-old Eve (Kut) is born in the Year of the Fire Horse, a year that’s historically been feared in Chinese culture because fire horses cannot be controlled. It also doesn’t help that her English name also associates her with Western Christianity’s original sinner. 

When the sisters lose their beloved grandmother, they turn to religion and folklore to grieve, albeit in different ways. The older Kareena (Lo) is drawn to the strict rules of Christianity, believing that living like a saint will help ensure their non-believing loved ones get into heaven. 

Less concerned about fitting into any one box, Eve prefers to explore and blend all religions, which frustrates her more obedient older sister. But who wouldn’t want to entertain a fantastical world where your grandma may be reincarnated as your pet goldfish, and you can watch Jesus and Buddha dance together?

Eve and the Firehorse also stars acclaimed actress Vivian Wu as the immigrant mother, helping her daughters navigate both cultures. In 2006, the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award (now Canadian Screen Award) for best first feature film. —Ada Tseng