Work-in-Progress
A Diamond in the Belly
animated short film | Writer, Director
As her wedding to her American fiancé nears, a Chinese woman living in New York City is plagued by an unexplained stomach pain.
Desperate for answers, she contacts a curandero in Argentina via Zoom, who reveals the presence of a little boy’s spirit after analyzing her nightmares. Reluctantly, she reconnects with her estranged mother and grandmother in China, uncovering the forgotten deaths of two boys in their family.
This story explores how collective political trauma leaves mysterious marks on female bodies across generations, while also celebrating the hidden power and wisdom these women carry.
A fantasy rooted in true events.
PBS Digital Studios | Otherwords
(2024, 9 min) | Director, Producer
From "kitty" to "lovebug," people across the world use very similar type of words for the people they love. What's behind this universal linguistic trend?
Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and finds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fields of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human.
Quarantine Poems （隔离五首）
(2021, 9 min) | Director, Editor
Welcome to 14 days of mandatory quarantine, Chinese style. It was borderline imprisonment but also a strange spiritual retreat. I even developed an imaginary friendship with the mysterious guard who sat at the end of the hallway, watching everyone. During the 14 days, I often thought of Albert Camus' words, that if he had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, little by little he would've gotten used to it. What does it mean to be used to it, though? How would the world and humanity change, when we get out of the "long quarantine?"
Presented at DocEdge XR Exhibition 2021 as a part of the CoVisions film collection
The Long Night (凌晨奇遇）
(5 episodes x 20 min series, 2021) | Director, Producer, Editor
As Covid puts everything on hold, some people expand their life at night to feel more alive. A jazz singer in New York recovering from a heartbreak, a night-shift taxi drivers in Shanghai whose childhood home is forever lost in the construction of a new city, a late-night bookstore owner in Harbin who wants to offer a sense of home to travelers in the freezing snow…we might live in different parts of the globe, facing different challenges, but when the night falls and we have a little time to ourselves, we will realize that our longings are universal.
Commissioned by Tencent
Migrant Parents （候鸟父母）
(2021, 10 min) | Director, Editor
When their only child decides to leave China and build a life in the US, these Chinese parents are forced to migrate between two continents, struggling to find a sense of belongingness in a foreign land. Luckily, they found dancing and each other.