Experiencing Interruptions?

Hi, Marilyn

Set on the eve of Macau’s 1999 return, Wu Ziyan, a shy boy raised by his grandmother, is bullied and lonely. When he receives a love letter from Shenzhen, rumors spread about his “girlfriend.” The class bully asks him to write a letter, and Wu becomes an unlikely "advisor" in his journey of growth.

  • Di Zhang
    Director
  • Di Zhang
    Writer
  • Yizhi Fang
    Producer
  • Yihong Deng
    Key Cast
    "Wu Ziyan "
  • Zhenghong Hu
    Key Cast
    "Bao Zhatou"
  • Shengye Yin
    Key Cast
    "Jia Jun"
  • Xiuhua Jia
    Key Cast
    "Grandma"
  • Xinyu Liang Yin Yin
    Key Cast
    "Yin Yin"
  • Xinqi Lin
    Key Cast
    "Seat Partner"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    27 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 10, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Di Zhang

Di Zhang, director & screenwriter, holds degrees from the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy and is completing her MFA at USC. Her debut feature, Last Time, Again, a Canadian-Polish-Chinese co-production, was selected for the 13th Biennale College Cinema (2024). She has written for Legendary and Emperor Entertainment, including Paradise (2022) and Ready or Knot 2 (2022), and contributed as a visual director for Shadow (2018) and Once Upon a Time (2017).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I was thinking about this story, what influenced me the most was my migration in childhood. I always felt that I was a child who grew up on a "wheel". I moved from Shanxi to Guangdong with my parents when I was young, lived in Macau for a short time, went to Los Angeles to study when I grew up, and worked in Beijing. I feel that I have always been a person without roots. Every 8 years, I have to say goodbye to my previous life. I long to establish connections with others, but I am afraid that one day I will lose them.
So I created the character Wu Ziyan. Macau was an isolated island before the return, and Wu Ziyan was also an isolated island.
I designed a love letter from Shenzhen for Wu Ziyan. When he received a love letter, he connected with the world around him. He began to tell me the shape and color of his world, and let me see many stories I had experienced.
Wu Ziyan's youth also began to enrich. He began to have friends and expectations. He began to be admired, and he also began to learn to lose and give up. He had a moment of enlightenment and regret. To me, his roughness and sincerity, his lies and contradictions all let me glimpse the fire surging under my ordinary life and let me see my desire for love.