SO LONG, MY HOMETOWN

Chen Xinxuan, an 82 years old amateur painter, was born in Aoshan Wei town in Jimo, Shandong province. In 1953, after the 600-year-old Aoshan Wei’s Castle was destroyed by Chinese government, Chen’s fate also changed dramatically... Nowdays he regains his peace and begins to use his hobby in his life --Chinese painting, to retell the fragments of memory, to reshape the disappeared hometown...

  • Aaron Zhang
    Director
  • Aaron Zhang
    Producer
  • Chen Xinxuan
    Key Cast
    "himself"
  • Aaron Zhang
    Cinematographer
  • Le Zhengyang
    Sound designer
  • Deng Weilin
    Music soundtrack
  • Eve Zhu
    Co-producer
  • Deep Wang
    Co-producer
  • Spider Zhang
    Co-producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    再见故城
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Historical, Political, Human Rights, Anthropological
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 14, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese, Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital XAVC-S
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Aaron Zhang

Aaron Zhang, a production manager and director, graduated from C.U.Z. with film directing. He used to be an independent filmmaker. Right now he is a wanderer of the film industry. He directed short non-fiction film SO LONG, MY HOMETOWN, independent underground short film NON-FICTION FILM(unfinished). He also produced some unknown short film as production manager.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Chen Xinxuan, the interviewee of this film, is my uncle grandpa, who is an amateur painter. In 2016, I learned by accident that he had been painting ancient castle series by Chinese paintings in recent years. His hometown, Aoshan Wei, was a 600 years old ancient castle, which has been destroyed over 70 years. After the collapse of the ancient city, Chen's life was rocked as his howetown... So I decided to preserve this historical memory. This 21-minute film is not only used to express my uncle grandpa's feelings for painting and hometown, but also hopes that every audience can think about the fact that every Chinese people are facing -- are we falling into the era of forgetting history, forgetting the past, forgetting everything we once loved?