楊毅恒的首部長片是史上第一部代表馬來西亞入圍東京國際電影節正式競賽單元。根據馬來西亞真實事件改編。一群高中生不甘淪為經濟這巨大齒輪犧牲的一角，極力抗爭外來的稀土工廠在沿岸興建，他們的生命正在這場革命產生巨大的變化，也萌生了革命情感以及一些單純的戀愛情懷。事隔差不多兩年，爭議仍然持續。啟發自三島由紀夫的小說《春雪》和《奔馬》，由導演楊毅恒對事件的記憶作主導，繼續反思抗爭，反映這一代馬來西亞人的抗爭，展示他們如何鍥而不舍在困境中尋找僅有的希望。即使鏡頭下的示威沒有歇斯底里，生活在香港的人，特別是新一代，一定有所共鳴。

After a string of critically acclaimed short films, Edmund Yeo makes his feature film debut with this sprawling, intimate epic about first love, memories and historical amnesia. Inspired by the Lynas protests and Bersih movement in Malaysia, this low-key drama traces the evolution of an apathetic high school student (Koe Shern) from hopeless romantic to political radical through his relationships with a classmate (Joey Leung), their activist teacher (Jacqueline Chu) and his class monitor (Daphne Low). The first Malaysian film to enter the official competition section of the Tokyo International Film Festival, The River of Exploding Durians marks the emergence of a fresh voice in Malaysian cinema.