Synopsis

“Our family is special”, says filmmaker Lei Lei’s father Lei Jiaqi. On the audio track of this inventive, poignant animation film he starts to talk about the struggles of his family amid the tumultuous times in the 1960s. When his own father, Lei Ting, is sent to the countryside, he stays behind with his sister and his ill mother. When Mum passes away, as the system forbids Ting to come back to live with his children, the kids are kept in an orphanage. Not long after, history repeated: once again, Ting is sent to a re-education center branded a class traitor. The family is split. They just can write to each other. The daughters are going to university, while Jiaqi and his new mum are sent to the countryside. They all wait for the day to reunite.

PROFILE

Lei Lei

LEI Lei is an up-and-coming multimedia Chinese animation artist with his hands on graphic design, illustration, short cartoon, graffiti and music. In 2009 he received his master’s degree from Tsinghua University. In 2010, his film THIS IS LOVE was shown at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and awarded the Best Narrative Short. In 2013 his film RECYCLED was selected by Annecy festival and was the Grand Prix shorts winner - non-narrative at Holland International Animation Film Festival. In 2014 he was on the Jury of Zagreb / Holland International Animation Film Festival and the winner of 2014 asian cultural council grant. His latest work is the film SILVER BIRD AND RAINBOW FISH (2022), selected at IFFR 2022.