The Form of Breath

This is a story revolving around a conservative traditional woman's journey to rediscover her body and identity after giving her all to her husband and her family. Minzhi Lin is a traditional housewife whose life is centered around that of her husband and her child, in her free time she enjoys painting as a hobby. One day, when she's at the stables to get a refund for her daughter's horseback riding classes, she overhears a girl in the bathroom discussing her own body in great detail which sparks Minzhi Lin's rediscovery of her body.

  • Zi Yang
    Director
    News of Joy, Forte & Piano, Broken Karma
  • Zi Yang
    Writer
    News of Joy, Forte & Piano, Broken Karma, Day Off
  • Lijun Sun
    Producer
    The Little Soldier ZhangGa, Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit, Fantastic Adventure, Running Freely
  • Min Zhang
    Producer
    Time in the temple, Sing like a lark
  • Qi Lin
    Key Cast
    "Minzhi Lin "
  • Zihao Chen
    Key Cast
    "Yunzhe Tan"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    马场上的女人
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    28 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 10, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese, Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Super35 (6K), 17:9
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Beijing Film Academy
Director Biography - Zi Yang

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in physics, but became a piano teacher after graduation. Several years later，I applyed for the Beijing Film Academy with a Master’s in Animation. During my time at BFA, I became enamored by the filmmaking process.I am curious about everything and try to reflect who I am by placing myself in different environments. In the mirror that is society, light does not always travel in straight lines. Throughout my life, I was judged a lot as a girl. As though there was a paradigm of what a woman should be like and should never stray from. My mother was often criticized and prejudiced against. She is just a single mother of two children. It was through this that I learned that biased criticism often stemmed from the subject being determined as outside of the determined norm. Beyond the ordinary. So I am impassioned to film ‘extraordinary’ people; men, women, and children. It is easy to find ‘extraordinary’ women and children as the boxes that they are put into are much more visible, I have yet to find an ‘extraordinary’ man.

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Director Statement

With the explosion of content detailing the intricacies of the female experience came waves of stories about the often ignored and silenced lives of housewives. Such stories have been explored in great depth in China, a country that is futuristically modern and yet still retains much of its traditional and sometimes antiquated values. However, in China, the spotlight has always been focused on the spirit and will of housewives as opposed to the physical bodies and sexuality of housewives. Perhaps due censorship, despite being one of the most feminist countries in Asia, women are still incredibly hesitant to speak about and explore their own bodies. The female body is not only a mystery to men but even to women themselves. This led me towards writing a short about the journey of self-discovery with no clear ending or conclusion. Lin Minzhi’s journey is mirrored by the evolving cinematography style and the increasing emotional overtone.