Experiencing Interruptions?

The Weight of Ashes

A fixed gaze on fire. Offerings are continuously fed into the flames, addressed to those no longer present. Voices call out, as if maintaining a relation that has not entirely ended.

Within these repetitive gestures, paper and fire become the only visible medium between the living and the absent. Burning and casting are not acts of farewell, but a language performed to sustain the position of the unseen within the world of the living.

Across generations, similar movements extend a quiet dialogue—calling, confirming, consoling. These actions do not resolve into narrative or meaning; instead, they form a stable yet unspoken order through repetition in time.

Between fire and ash, time does not end. It is prolonged.

  • CHIH HAO SHEN
    Director
  • CHIH HAO SHEN
    Writer
  • MFX Films
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Sensory Documentary
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 6, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese - Min Nan
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - CHIH HAO SHEN

Chih Hao Shen is an animation and documentary filmmaker whose work explores human existence, memory, and time through restrained visual storytelling.

His debut work received recognition from Rhode Island IFF. His short film 10 Seconds was selected by In The Palace, Fantasporto, and Asolo Art Film Festival (2026). His documentary YinYang Sea won the Grand Prix at Asolo Art Film Festival (2026).

His projects have been presented in international industry contexts, including Clermont-Ferrand, Visions du Réel, Cannes Short Film Corner, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, and Oberhausen.

Beyond filmmaking, he has worked in visual design and digital product development, including licensed merchandise design for The Lord of the Rings franchise in the Chinese-language market, visual work at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and founded and leads a software development company developing animation and visual effects tools within the Apple ecosystem.

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Director Statement

This work does not attempt to document a ritual, but to remain within an action that continues to operate.

During filming, I came to understand that burning and casting are not merely symbolic gestures, but attempts to complete a form of delivery. Through repeated calling and naming, the absent are held in a position where they can still be addressed.

By fixing the camera, I wanted to allow duration to unfold on its own, so that subtle shifts could emerge through repetition. Voices try to confirm, to correct, to ensure that nothing is misplaced—yet certainty never fully arrives.

These actions do not belong to the past; they persist in the present. They do not explain death, nor resolve mourning, but maintain a necessary order within uncertainty.

The image, therefore, is no longer documentation, but a way of staying within gesture and time.