Private Project

Autumn Leaves

Huang Jue dreamed of his deceased father just before his death. In the interweaving of emotions and dreams, he found solace and peacefully reached the end of his life's journey.

  • Zhe Fu
    Director
  • Zhe Fu
    Writer
  • Jian Hao
    Producer
  • Jianhua Zhang
    Producer
  • Bin Li
    Key Cast
  • Qianjia Wang
    Key Cast
  • Bing Lan
    Key Cast
  • Daoran Wang
    Key Cast
  • Wen Zhan
    Director of Photography
  • Qingya Liu
    Production Designer
  • Daoran Wang
    First Assistant Director
  • Yukai Zhang
    Second Assistant Director
  • Zhe Fu
    Editor/Colorist
  • Zhuoran Zhen
    Sound
  • Dan Qiao
    Sound
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 29, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    33,000 CNY
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Shanghai Vancouver Film School
Director Biography - Zhe Fu

Fu Zhe, born in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China, currently resides in Shanghai. He developed a profound passion for the art of filmmaking from a very young age. During his undergraduate studies in literature, he delved into various aspects of drama and film literature. Influenced by directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Ingmar Bergman, he enrolled in a one-year film production program at the "Shanghai Vancouver Film School" in Shanghai at the age of 20. Just before graduation, he completed his first independent short film titled "Autumn Leaves" in Shanghai.

After graduation, he became involved in the production of documentaries and feature films. His dream is to become a professional director of feature films, creating works that are intellectually stimulating, artistically profound, and entertaining. He is currently striving towards this goal.

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Director Statement

"Autumn Leaves" is a story about "death," depicting the dream of an old man on his deathbed. The inspiration for this film came from my grandfather. He was someone who feared death, and in his final moments, he was surrounded only by the cold instruments of the ICU and unfamiliar medical staff. During my last few brief visits, I couldn't forget the look in his eyes. After brief moments of clarity, he would quickly drift into chaotic contemplation. I didn't know what he was thinking at that time, but drawing from my memories of him, I created the short film "Autumn Leaves." I hoped that in the last moments of his life, he could find solace and liberation from the fear of death.

During the filming process, we encountered many challenges, especially on the second day of shooting when unexpectedly severe weather severely delayed our progress, to the point where many planned shots couldn't be captured. Lack of funds also prevented us from expanding the shooting schedule, forcing us to abandon the original script's format. Therefore, during the editing process, we had to reconstruct the entire material. We extensively used editing techniques such as "cross-cutting" and "flashbacks" in dream sequences to depict the emotional turmoil and consciousness of the characters. Additionally, we intensified the emotional atmosphere through environmental sound rendering, attempting to draw the audience into the protagonist's inner emotional world.

We used colour and black-and-white to separate the two worlds, aiding the audience in better distinguishing them. We shifted from a form similar to a "fable" in the original script to a more realistic "stream of consciousness" form, which better suited the portrayal of true dreams.