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Blood and Water

Family is a blessing for some, a curse for others. For one reserved teenager, it is an opportunity.

synopsis

Wei’s family lives a seemingly perfect middle-class life. But tension is brewing in their daily interactions. Wei, in his turbulent adolescence, begins to feel suffocated by his privileged life as the only child. His father, a cultured yet rigid cell biologist, and his mother, a passive-aggressive housewife, seem all too comfortable hiding their alienation. When the charismatic Wei befriends his classmate Shuo, the family opens its door to a mysterious kid abused by his alcoholic widowed father. Slowly integrating himself into Wei’s family life, Shuo realizes that he seems to hold the keys to their problems. However, the sudden death of Shuo’s father throws everyone’s life into turmoil. A past secret resurfaces to haunt them. The trust between the two teenage boys is put to test and the family finds itself at a crossroad. Each must question something they have taken for granted: what does it mean to be a family?

Director’statement

In biology, homeostasis refers to organisms’ tendency to self- regulate in order to maintain stability despite variations in their environment. I believe that families function in a similar way. In a culture with strong conservative traditions such as mine, when a violent change throws a family off balance, how far can it go to reinstate normality? China has gradually loosened up its family planning policies in recent years. For those parents and children who have lived through the controversial one-child policy, which lasted for over three decades, the change is liberating. But with a new freedom come new predicaments. The possibility of having another child also alters people’s mentality in subtle yet fundamental ways, awakening latent fears and desires. With this film I want to capture the kind of mystery that is often overlooked – a mystery disguised as the ordinary, a half-open door, an innocent question, an ambiguous gesture... To me, they are what makes human behaviours and interactions so fascinating.

TFL PROGRAMME:
FeatureLab 2018
Discover more details here:
Download
PDF
TFL Catalogue 2018
TFL AWARDS:

TFL Co-Production Award (€ 50,000) thanks to the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union

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