Red Funeral

Bai Lu, A 12-year-old girl in a small village in China is forbidden to attend her beloved grandmother's funeral as she is experiencing her first period. Bai Lu does not understand why her menstruation is considered "ritually unclean”. She tries to bid farewell to her grandmother in one final journey to pay homage, and eventually finds closure when she connects to the world of primordial pain and suffering that binds all women.

  • Jane Zhang
    Director
  • Jane Zhang
    Writer
  • Yan Gao
    Producer
  • Luke Hwong
    Co-Producer
  • Yuxuan Zheng
    Key Cast
    "Bai Lu"
  • Qiong Wu
    Key Cast
    "Grandma"
  • Xiuyi Li
    Key Cast
    "Mom"
  • Yuying Hu
    Key Cast
    "The Bride"
  • Ronnie Wu
    DOP
  • Junior Lucano
    Co-DOP
  • Husain Amer
    Editor
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    红色葬礼
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 31, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    300,000 CNY
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Oberhausen International Short Film Festival
    Oberhausen
    Germany
    May 4, 2022
    World Premiere
    International Youth Competition - Special Mention of the Youth Jury
Director Biography - Jane Zhang

Jane is a Director and Screenwriter from Macau, China with a degree in psychology from the University of South Florida.
In 2018, she co-produced and wrote an LGBTQ short film Wuni River. In 2021, she was selected to the Bucheon International Film Festivals' (BIFAN) Fantastic Film School program.
She is currently attending Film Production MFA Program in University of Southern California (USC).
Her directorial debut short 'Red Funeral' won Special Mention of Youth Jury in the 68th Oberhausen International Short Film Festival.

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Director Statement

The story was born out of my remorse of not being able to bid my final farewell to my grandfather coupled with the experience of a woman's first period.
To have your period is to bring misfortune - the most common prejudice against women in traditional culture. From the perspective of a young girl, her intimate experience of womanhood and grief is somewhat distorted and disrupted by the thousand-year custom, I want to explore such confusion and discomfort.
As for the title, red in Chinese culture is considered an auspicious color whilst funerals are as a norm held in white. Joyful events are literally styled "Red Events" while funerals are "White Events", hence making the name "Red Funeral" a perfect oxymoron.