Qi, a six-year-old girl, resides with her mother’s original family all year round since her father works in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in China and rarely visits home. On a hot day at noon, at the end of the 20th century, she watched as the grown-ups’ figures flickered and vanished before her eyes like shadows.

Wenqian Zhang

Wenqian Zhang was born in Taizhou in 1992. She graduated from Nanjing University in 2017 with a Master’s degree in Theater. In 2019, she achieved another Master’s degree in Filmmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2022, Wenqian completed her feature documentary debut, “A Long Journey Home” (2022), which won the jury prize in the Burning Lights Competition in Visions du Réel. Two years later, her first fictional short film, “Remains of the Hot Day” (2024), won the Silver Bear in the Shorts Competition at the 74th Berlinale.