Experiencing Interruptions?

500 Miles Away From Home

Jiuying is a printmaker with bi-polar disorder and in financial crisis. When Lunar New Year approaches, she returns to her hometown to tackle long-standing emotional issues between her and her mother. Her mother, Hengpei, who is obsessed with bodybuilding, wants to help her daughter through this difficult time by leading her in exercise. As a result of her successive frustrations, and being mistreated and controlled by Hengpei for years, Jiuying fears to embark on new ventures. At the dinner table, she tearfully releases the inner pain that is caused by Hengpei’s past behavior...Eventually, they leave the place of heartbreak and dance together in the fields of the countryside where Hengpei was born, reaping the benefits of an all-equal exchange through their bodies and words.

  • Qianhui Xu
    Director
  • Qianhui Xu
    Writer
  • Jiuying Peng
    Writer
  • Qianhui Xu
    Producer
  • Qianhui Xu
    Cinematographer
  • Yajie Zhang
    Sound Recorder
  • Qianhui Xu
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    24,233 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - American University
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Qianhui Xu

Qianhui Xu(She/They) is an independent filmmaker with seven years of cross-cultural production experience. Her work explores the experiences of individuals facing survival difficulties and existential anxiety, delving into their spiritual journeys, lifestyles, and relationships with their environments. Since transitioning to independent documentary filmmaking in 2022, Qianhui has crafted compelling documentaries that have been showcased at prestigious exhibitions, conferences, and film festivals worldwide. Her films have been featured at Rhizome DC—the most influential underground art space in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area— as well as the University Film and Video Association Conference, the NYU Drama Therapy Symposium, the UCSD 21st Century China Focus Club, Montreal Women’s Film Festival, Mediterranean Film Festival, Canada Shorts - Canadian & International Short Film Fest, Chinatown Film Festival, the Aporia International Village Film Festival in South Korea and more. With a growing record of international screenings and accolades, Qianhui continues to push the boundaries of documentary storytelling, bridging cultures and perspectives through film.

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Director Statement

Jiuying and I have been friends for 24 years, but in recent years we've grown especially close due to our shared passion for art and our shared experience as entrepreneurs. In last September, she told me that her grandmother's health was declining and that she needed to visit her hometown on Chinese New Year's Eve and utilize this chance to have an in-depth conversation with her mother to address her emotional trauma, and I would be the best person to record this process.

As a documentarian, I'm also hoping that by filming this story, more people will have an appreciation for the lonely but brave journey that young women, especially some of them who have limited income and mental health problem are taking, under the situation of lacking social and family support. Of course, it's not a single person's adventure. Hengpei, as a strong woman born in 1970s in the rural China, who managed to make a life for herself and her siblings in the city, is now bravely facing her family trauma, and learning from her mistakes.

I'm pretty sure that global audience will get comfort and strength from this story.