In order to save his younger brother Linzi’s life, young Tutu ends up killing a bear. Their indigenous Ewenki community considers this act sacrilegious and the two are marginalized by the group, growing up isolated on the edge of the forest where they eventually join a team of illegal loggers. Linzi feels guilty about destroying the forest he grew up in, having a sense of debt to nature. On the other hand, Tutu sees nature only as a means to make a living, which causes conflict between the two. One day, they fall in love with the same woman at the same time, and this completely separates the brothers. In the meantime, reckless logging destroys their forest even more until one day, nature strikes an unexpected counterattack against the humans who have done it harm. The film depicts how all living things in nature, which humans perfectly objectify as something to conquer, are in an organic relationship with each other.

2021 Hong Kong International Film Festival
2021 Moscow International Film Festival

CAO Jinling

Cao Jinling attended China’s Central Academy of Drama, where she received a doctorate degree with a major in dramatic literature, and in 2015/2016 attended the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, Her body of screenwriting work includes the screenplays for (2014), (2016), and (2017). She wrote the screenplay for ///Anima//, which is her directorial debut.