A Tortoise’s Year of Fate
一只乌龟的本命年 Yì Zhī Wū Gūi De Běn Mìng Nián
by Xiong Yi, 2023, running time 20’.
Melancholy tale of a steelworker exploring relationships in his work environment. The young man pursues freedom from a life of poverty while prospects for the future do not look very promising.
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XIONG YI
He is a Chinese director and screenwriter based in New York City and Shanghai. Having earned a Bachelor's degree in Film from Pratt Institute in 2022, he is now set to pursue his MFA at Columbia University School of The Arts. His cinematic approach is deeply rooted in his belief that gazing is a form of caring. His films serve as a vehicle to convey his observations of people and society, delving into the complexities of human nature and the dynamics of our interconnected world.
Goodbye First Love
经过 Jīng Guò
by Huang Shuli, 2024, running time 15’.
A past together in Beijing, memories that seem to have no meaning recounted to the companion who barely responds. Finding himself thus in Frankfurt on a business trip to Europe makes him realize that this may be the last time he sees him.
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HUANG SHULI
A Chinese writer-director and cinematographer living in New York City.
His second short film, Will You Look At Me (2022), premiered at the 61st Semaine de la Critique where it was awarded Queer Palm of Festival de Cannes 2022, and went on to win Short Film Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival 2023. Goodbye First Love (2024), his latest short film will premiere in competition at Berlinale shorts 2024.
He has also worked as cinematographer on several feature films, including Farewell, My Hometown (2021), which received the New Currents Award at Busan International Film Festival 2021, and Borrowed Time (2023), selected for International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024.
Sojourn to Shangri-La
是日访古 Shì Rì Fǎng Gǔ
by Lin Yihan, 2023, running time 20’.
Italian Premiere
A fashion shoot is planned on the beach, but during the night the sea has washed away the backdrop built for the occasion As the young assistant searches for him with a drone, the film slowly slips into the magical.
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LIN YIHAN
A filmmaker and artist based in Shanghai. She received her MFA degree in Cinema Directing from Columbia College Chicago. She investigates subtle and inexplicable relationships between individuals in the contemporary context, with a particular focus on subjects that are in an insecure, nomadic, and transient state. Her practice is born out of a desire to explore the realm of the agnostic and to construct an ethereal landscape that emerges above the physical space. She is often searching for things that approach eternity in the moment of “here and now”. Her works have been selected for Slamdance Film Festival, Grilla 3° Lima Alterna Festival, Minikino Film Week, etc. Recent short film Yesterday I was the Moon won Grand Prize at Seoul International Senior Film Festival 2023. She is now writing her first feature Innocent Flesh.
The Poison Cat
毒药猫 Dú Yào Māo
by Guan Tian, 2024, running time 18’.
According to the ancient legend of the Poison Cat, women's yawns have the ability to turn into diabolical roars. Will a wife's unusual behaviors be the cause of these fearful sounds in the forest and the strange disappearances of men from the village?
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GUAN TIAN
He graduated from the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama as an undergraduate, and later obtained his MFA from Syracuse University and California Institute of the Arts. His short films have won several international awards, including Best Live Action Short Film at Warsaw International Film Festival and Best Short Film at Los Angeles Film Festival, and have been collected by the Johns Hopkins University-Maryland Institute of Art Film Center. He has served as co-curatorial director of the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival and preliminary jury member of the FIRST Youth Film Festival. He is currently working on his feature film script, which was selected for the HAF Pilot Program in Hong Kong and the FIRST Feature Film Lab.
All Tomorrow's Parties
我的朋友 Wǒ De Péng Yǒu
by Zhang Dalei, 2022, running time 24’.
Italian Premiere
The 1990 Asian Games are drawing to a close and the collective enthusiasm is waning. Xiao Zhou waits unmotivated at her daily routine, but she meets Li Mo, who has just returned, full of expectations and ideals after seeing the Gobi and the mountains.
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ZHANG DAILEI
A screenwriter, editor and stylized director. He graduated from St. Petersburg State Film and Television University in 2006. His works include feature films The Summer Is Gone (2016), Stars Await Us (2020), the series Moses On The Plain (2023), short films Fuzz (2019), Day Is Done (2021) and All Tomorrow's Parties (2023).
In 2016, The Summer Is Gone was nominated for Best Narrative Feature Film, Best Director, Best Performance and Best Artistic Originality at the 10th FIRST International Film Festival XINING. The film won Best Narrative Feature, Best New Performer and FIPRESCI Prize at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards. His second film STARS AWAIT US was selected to be in competitions at the 3rd Pingyao International Film Festival and the 24th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. In 2021, his short film Day Is Done won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 71st Berlinale. Two years later, his recent short film All Tomorrow's Parties is once again selected to compete at Berlinale Shorts.