"Fruit Gathering", the debut feature from Myanmar director and writer Aung Phyoe, is premiering at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as part of the Crystal Globe competition, making it the first film from Myanmar to screen at the event. Set in contemporary Myanmar, the film follows the friendship that develops between two young women working at a textile factory in Yangon over roughly a year and a half, deliberately focusing on quiet intimacy and alienation rather than the wider social impact of their relationship.

Phyoe, who began developing the script through Locarno's Open Doors co-production platform in 2020, said he was drawn to exploring affection and kindness beyond one's family, describing such bonds as "precious" yet "conditional". The Myanmar–Czech–French co-production was shot by cinematographer Thaiddhi in a 4:3 aspect ratio, a choice Phyoe found challenging as it prevented conventional close-ups. He drew on women in his own life for inspiration, noted that closeness and queerness between women are more openly accepted in Myanmar than among men, and reflected on the difficulty of making films there, where support is scarce and political themes must be handled subtly.