Private Project

Open House at Floralville's Orphanage

May, an orphan living in Floralville, stumbles upon an unknown secret on the day of the orphanage's open house.

  • Leah Liu
    Director
  • Leah Liu
    Writer
  • Miaomiao Liu
    Producer
  • Jianda Ma
    Producer
  • Jiaqi Zhou
    Key Cast
    "May"
  • Siying Xu
    Key Cast
    "Tao"
  • Jiaqi Zhang
    Key Cast
    "Ms. White"
  • Shuailiang Liu
    Director of Photography
  • Puze Huang
    Production Designer
  • Sixuan Geng
    Editor
  • Elaine Zhu
    Assistant Director
  • Gordon Chen
    Music Composer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    花镇孤儿院开放日
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Fantasy
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    23,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Leah Liu

Leah (Yujia) Liu, originally from Beijing and now based in New York, has harbored a fascination for fairy tales and fantasy stories since childhood. During her graduating year at Emerson College, she directed her first fantasy short Open House at Floralville’s Orphanage.

Beyond directing, Leah takes on the role of Production Designer as she enjoys participating in the process of building the worlds in films. East Cocker, a short film she production designed, entered the 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Short & Mid-length category. Currently, Leah is pursuing advanced studies in the MFA Film program at Columbia University, where she is developing a feature-length sci-fi romantic comedy screenplay.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I started coming up with the idea for this short, Open House at Floralville’s Orphanage, after reading an article about body dysmorphia couple years ago. Reading the article brought back memories of all kinds of remarks that I heard about my body throughout my adolescence. As I’m learning to appreciate my body and move past those comments, I felt the need to tell such a story, even just to reconcile with my thirteen-year-old self. For me, using a fictional fantasy narrative appeared to be the most fitting way to address the bittersweet essence of this coming-of-age story.

I hope that individuals who have had similar experiences will find resonance in the story in any shape or form and feel reassured that they are not to blame for what happened, and that they are indeed good enough.