Komorebi
The short film follows Xiran, an adult gradually losing her ability to perceive colour. In therapy, she recalls a melancholic summer from her childhood spent with her grandmother in the mountains. Her yearning for her mother is projected onto a travelling merchant who visits occasionally to sell snacks. Although young Xiran never reunites with her mother, adult Xiran finds solace in the mountains. She returns to the countryside, revisiting familiar places, not to dwell on her longing for her mother but to embrace the call of nature that rekindles her spirit.
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Sylvia DuDirector
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Sylvia DuWriter
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Xiran MaKey Cast
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Hengbin PanKey Cast
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Sylvia DuEditor
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Sylvia DuCinematographer
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Genres:Drama
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Runtime:8 minutes 32 seconds
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Completion Date:August 30, 2024
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Production Budget:800 CNY
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Country of Origin:China
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Country of Filming:China
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Language:Mandarin Chinese
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes - Shanxi Media College
Director Du Xingyu was born in 2002 in a small rural town in southwestern China, a place where material wealth was scarce, but beautiful mountains and continuous drizzle were abundant. This environment deeply resonated with her when she watched Tarkovsky’s Nostalgia and Edward Yang’s A Brighter Summer Day, as the films’ themes intertwined with her memories and thoughts. At seventeen, she travelled north to study Film Directing at Shanxi Media College, aspiring to lead a “Guizhou New Wave” and become a poetic filmmaker of Generation Z. However, reality proved harsh: besides intensifying her homesickness, her northern environment offered few resources to fulfil her dreams. Faced with barren landscapes and economic hardship, Du turned to the Dogme 95 principles, relying on available equipment and simple techniques to document her profound longing and love for her mother.
The short film draws inspiration from the director’s childhood observations of left-behind children in Guizhou’s mountains. These children, though lonely and yearning for absent parents, lived contentedly among the hills and greenery. Beyond melancholy, the film captures their joy in running freely through forests, their excitement at visiting merchants, and their anticipation of the outside world. While left-behind children may seem pitiable to outsiders, they are just as entitled to happiness. As members of Generation Z, we, too, may need to rediscover a connection with nature.
With limited resources and inspired by the Dogme 95 movement, the director filmed independently using an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Natural light was used throughout, and the cast consisted of non-professional actors, including the director’s own cousin and grandmother. Scenes were shot in rural homes within the mountain village. The story alternates between black-and-white and colour—black-and-white reflecting the present reality and colour capturing memories. This contrast mirrors the protagonist Xiran’s disconnection from both her surroundings and her sense of colour. It is only through revisiting these memories that Xiran begins to rediscover colour and, ultimately, find healing.