A remote country village in China. Twelve-year-old Jiaxing discovers a suggestive slip of paper that had been sent to her and starts going through her peers’ bags to find the culprit. But in reverse, she gets mistaken as a thief and is criticized by her teacher and classmates. As the situation worsens, Jiaxing starts believing she’ll be able to escape the matter if she finds her father who left town to make money in the city. Jiaxing and her close friends struggle to save up for her road trip. The film’s Chinese title, “池塘(Pond)” is precisely linked with the film’s ending since the pond is what embraces children. It’s always distressing to witness children defending themselves due to the absence of adults. Documentary filmmaker Qi Rui’s cross-feature/documentary directing stands out in the film. The child actors in the film also act beautifully as if they aren’t acting but living their own lives.

2021 Rotterdam International Film Festival
2021 Hong Kong International Film Festival (상)

QI Rui

Qi Rui studied cinematography at the Beijing Film Academy and has engaged in documentary filmmaking since 2001. He was the director of photography and art for , and was selected for the AFA Training Program of the 2006 Busan Film Festival. His directorial debut feature, , won Work-in-Progress Jury Award at the third Pingyao International Film Festival.