Private Project

The Petrichor of Things

By imagining their death, two Chinese women endure their mundane, hopeless lives confined by patriarchy.

Writer/Director: Alice Xingyu LI (Research Scientist and Ph.D. in Psychology, Stanford University)

Producer: Hattie Haixia YU (VP, The Hollywood Reporter)

Cinematographer: Cecile ZHANG (Junior Director of Photography by the Angénieux ExcelLens at the 2018 Cannes International Film Festival; Rising Stars of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) 2020)

Editor: Ricardo SARAIVA ("My Favourite Cake" Berlinale Competition, 2024; "Amparo", the Rising Star Award at Cannes' Semaine de la Critique, 2021; "Leidi", Cannes Short Film Palm d'Or, 2021)

Colorist: David RIVERO ("Only the River Flows" Cannes Un Certain Regard, 2023)

Sound Designer: Kun LOU ("Kaili Blues", Locarno, 2015)

  • Alice Xingyu Li
    Director
  • Alice Xingyu Li
    Writer
  • Hattie Haixia Yu
    Producer
  • Ningyue Li
    Key Cast
    "Scientist"
  • Yanru Liu
    Key Cast
    "Photographer"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    事物的雨后泥土味道
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Feminist
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 18, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Alice Xingyu Li

Alice Xingyu Li, Ph.D., is a Stanford University research scientist, a Stanford Computational Social Science Fellow, and a filmmaker. Her debut short film 'Homesick' (2023) won the Hollywood Best Indie Short Film Award, and Best Experimental Short Film Award at Avignon International Film Festival, Paris Fantasy Film Festival and Stockholm City Film Festival. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, she received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 2021 and her M.A. in Political Science in 2018 both from Stanford University. Her academic paper has been published on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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Director Statement

“The Petrichor of Things” is inspired by a web-novel genre that has become SO POPULAR in China since the 2000s. It’s called the “rebirth after my death” literature.

The premise is simple in such novels: I, the first personal narrator, die on the first page and is immediately rebirthed into a new life — a life that’s full of rebellion and freedom — a life that’s impossible in contemporary China. It's like Jorge Luis Borges' circular novel: The Garden of Forking Paths.

Millions of Chinese women rely on this novel genre (the “rebirth after my death” literature) to kill their free time, including me. It has become my favourite novel genre since I was 13 years old. So, nearly twenty years later, I made a short film about it.

“The Petrichor of Things” shows how imaging is the only way many women in China can live their daily lives. By imagining our death, we endure this mundane, hopeless life confined by patriarchy.