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WHEN WINTER COMES

China Premiere Yuan Yuan | 2024 | United States / China | 20min | Fiction
YUAN Yuan | HE Fan, HU Xibei | HU Mingjue | ZHAI Emily | EMMA CANTOR | CHOI Sung Rok | LEE Eleven, GUO Ao Lan, CHEN James

Synopsis

A Chinese mother searches for her missing daughter in New York. She posts missing person flyers on the streets day after day, until she is called to identify a dead body.


2.《长冬》导演照片

Yuan Yuan

YUAN Yuan is a Chinese writer-director. Her short films won Best Student Film at 25th DGA Student Film Award, Best Student Film at Palm Springs, Jury Prize at Hong Kong International Film Festival etc. Currently, she is developing her first feature project, LATE SPRING, which has been selected by Sundance Screenwriters & Directors Labs, FIRST International film festival financing forum, while it won Best Young Talent Project at Shanghai International Film Festival in China. Before grad school, Yuan worked for director Wuershan as AD, and producer Bill Kong in film development. Yuan holds an MFA degree from NYU Tisch Grad Film Program.


Director's statement

The inspiration for WHEN WINTER COMES came from my experience several years ago in the United States, assisting a classmate’s mother in searching for her daughter. During the search, I deeply felt my classmate’s struggles, but what touched me even more was her mother. Through this short film, I hope to explore the complexity of a mother as a person, especially when her daughter becomes her entire life. Facing such a family upheaval, how will her life continue?