April in France
April in France is the debut film directed by director David Boaretto. It tells the story of the director's daughter, April, who is forced to move from Paris to a quaint village in southwestern France, a place where her great-grandfather once lived. As she navigates her new life, she befriends her great-grandfather's old friends, bringing unprecedented vitality to the small town.
During the post-screening session on December 9, the director and his daughter April appeared in person and received a warm welcome from the audience. The atmosphere was natural and friendly, with many audience members expressing their fondness for April. The director also shared the main idea he wished to convey through the film: the connection between people still matters, and it is a crucial support that helps us survive the darkest moments in life. In addition, they each shared their feelings about coming to China to attend the HIIFF. The director noted that he sensed a unique innocence in Chinese children, and April also expressed her strong desire to travel to China again.
A Dark Light
Directed by Alberto Hayden, A Dark Light is an experimental work that deeply explores the emotional connection between humans and what they have lost through a unique visual narrative. It focuses on a man and a woman, Jorge and Josefina, who meet by chance. As their relationship deepens, unbearable realities gradually come to the surface.
The film blends Eastern and Western cultural atmospheres, using the experimental technique of shooting on a mobile phone to weave memory, pain, and digital existence into one. During the post-screening Q&A on December 9, director Alberto Hayden mentioned that in his vision, the mobile phone is not merely a recording medium; it also symbolizes the way modern people exist in the memories of others against the backdrop of social networks, serving as a metaphor for digital survival and thus endowing the film with deeper philosophical implications. Many audience members present deeply resonated with this.
Through Rocks and Clouds
Through Rocks and Clouds was nominated for the Best Feature Film award by the International Jury in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlin International Film Festival. It tells the story of the deep bond between an eight-year-old alpaca shepherd boy, Feliciano, and his village, while focusing on the threat that natural resource exploitation poses to the lives of Peru's indigenous people.
During the post-screening Q&A, Nely Huayta, Richard Taipe, and Edilberto Merida shared the original intentions and expectations behind the film's creation with the audience. They attempted to reflect broader, universal issues concerning humanity and the environment by focusing on the micro-changes within a single village.
Aruna Vasudev: Making Asian Cinema Visible to the World
Directed by Indian director Supriya Suri, this film focuses on Ms. Aruna Vasudev, hailed as the "Mother of Asian Cinema." She was a distinguished Indian critic, writer, editor, painter, and documentary producer, as well as an outstanding film scholar who made an indelible contribution to the global promotion of Asian cinema. She served as a jury member for the International Jury of the Golden Coconut Awards at the 2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) in 2019. Sadly, Ms. Aruna Vasudev passed away in September of this year, and this screening serves as a profound tribute to her memory.
After the screening, director Supriya Suri and director Xie Fei, who had deeply interacted with Ms. Aruna Vasudev, took the stage. The director first shared that her motivation to create the film began in 2019, when she decided to shoot a feature-length documentary for Aruna Vasudev, who was gradually losing her memory. This coincided with the 2nd HIIFF; Suri accompanied Aruna to Hainan and captured footage during the festival. Additionally, director Xie Fei mentioned Aruna Vasudev's strong support for Asian cinema and young directors, encouraging the young creators and cinephiles present to reflect on how to carry on Ms. Aruna Vasudev's spirit and make Asian cinema visible to the world in this new era of the thriving internet.
Yukiko a.k.a.
The feature-length narrative film Yukiko a.k.a. from the "Island-wide Carnival - Female Chapter" also hosted a post-screening session with the creators today, marking the film's debut in China. The film focuses on a fourth-grade elementary school teacher named Yoshimura Yukiko, who, approaching the age of thirty, begins to explore how to live as her true self.
After the screening, director Naoya Kusaba and Female Section Ambassador Li Meng appeared on stage to interact with the audience. The director provided an in-depth explanation of the relationship between Japanese hip-hop culture, which is prominently featured in the film, and the film's creation. Hip-hop is quite popular in contemporary Japanese society, and the director himself only conceived the idea of creating a work related to hip-hop culture after meeting some hip-hop artists. However, because he was not very familiar with this community, he constantly worried about being unable to authentically represent it, causing much internal conflict. Later, recalling his own background in the education industry, he decided to approach it from this angle, using the contrast between an elementary school teacher and a hip-hop artist to showcase the diversity and tension of hip-hop culture.
Sleep with Your Eyes Open
Set in a coastal town in Brazil, Sleep with Your Eyes Open tells a story woven from missed connections and chance encounters under the bright sunshine. A young woman traveling alone, hindered by the language barrier and an unexpected turn of events on her journey, mistakenly wanders into a small umbrella shop. The shop owner is a Chinese migrant worker harboring entrepreneurial dreams, toiling away in plastics and garments; meanwhile, a visiting Chinese international student brings fleeting moments of warmth shared with the migrant workers.
During the post-screening Q&A, the lead actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart appeared and shared his feelings and behind-the-scenes stories from the filming process. He first conveyed the greetings of the director, who was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances, expressing the director's sincere gratitude for the audience's support and his hope that the film would convey profound reflections on family, identity, and historical memory. Nahuel described the director as a highly creative artist who dares to break conventions. He pointed out that the director excels at discovering possibilities beyond the conventional, cleverly integrating various narrative and filming techniques to make the film a multi-dimensional experience intertwined with audio-visual and emotional elements. At the same time, the director's emphasis on cultural inclusiveness not only broadens the narrative depth of the film but also endows the story with stronger emotional resonance. Finally, Nahuel expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the audience and hoped that this film would touch their hearts and inspire deeper reflections on family, culture, and identity.
The Playground on This Friday
Directed by Zeng Zhi, The Playground on This Friday focuses on the struggles and growth of a middle-aged woman under the heavy pressures of life. Nurse Song Qian's peaceful life is shattered by her husband's sudden departure, forcing her to face her daughter's surgery and her mother's memory loss alone. Amidst the cascading difficulties, Song Qian gradually reveals her inner resilience, regains control of her life, and achieves self-redemption.
During the post-screening Q&A, director Zeng Zhi and executive producer Li Tianyu attended and shared the creative process and behind-the-scenes stories of The Playground on This Friday. As the director's first feature-length narrative film, this movie represents his debut attempt at a realistic female-centric subject, brimming with profound observations on family and individual life. Discussing the inspiration for the film, the director mentioned that his love for playing football frequently took him to the orthopedic hospital, where his interactions and conversations with the nursing staff gradually sparked his interest in the profession and the stories behind it. He also noted that the family dynamics of the three generations of women in the film were deeply inspired by his own upbringing. Having grown up closely bonded with his mother and sister, this family atmosphere provided a crucial reference for shaping the rich emotional relationships in the film.
Outdoor Screening
Today concluded the HIIFF Outdoor Screenings with three distinctly styled films: the documentary Supersonic, focusing on the rock band Oasis; the Spanish documentary Queen of the Treasures, which vividly showcases the charismatic personality and extraordinary life of the director's mother, Julita; and the animated film Boonie Bears: Guardian Code, derived from the widely familiar animated series Boonie Bears. All three films received enthusiastic acclaim from the audience present.
