Experiencing Interruptions?

Touching Moon

In post-covid Shanghai, young artist Mengyan encounters writer Siqi, and begins to question her life. Her self-consciousness awakes in a way like a dream to touch.

  • Sophia Liu
    Director
    Ne te retourne pas ; The Listener ; Absentia
  • Sophia Liu
    Writer
  • Sophia Liu
    Producer
  • Zixing Guo
    Key Cast
    "Meng Yan"
  • Xi Ning
    Key Cast
    "Si Qi"
  • JiaLin Chen
    Key Cast
    "Xiao Xuan"
  • Chen Tang
    Key Cast
    "Hao Jun"
  • Sophia Liu
    Cinematographer
  • Stanislav Semeniuk
    Camera Operators
  • Xinyao Yang
    Camera Operators
  • Qiang Xie
    Camera Operators
  • Argo Zhou
    Sound Recordist
  • Ben Mao
    Gaffer & Grip
  • Bing Zhang
    Makeup & Hair
  • Sophia Liu
    Editor
  • Boun Maguer
    Editor
  • Vincent Arnardi
    Sound Supervisor & Re-recording Mixer
    Amélie
  • Stefon Bergeron
    Music Composer
    The Beguiled ; Wendy
  • Ava Xiao
    Graphic Design
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    触梦
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    29 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 15, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Preview Event at Paris Mk2 Beaubourg
    Paris
    France
    June 13, 2023
    World Premiere
  • China Premiere at Shanghai American Center
    Shanghai
    China
    November 22, 2023
    China Premiere
  • Vienna Independent Film Festival 2023
    Vienna
    Austria
    Best Editing Award
  • Munich New Wave Short Film Festival 2023
    Munich
    Germany
    Women Empowerment Award
  • New York Tri-State International Film Festival 2023
    New York
    United States
    Honorable Mention
  • Berlin Shorts Award 2023
    Berlin
    Germany
    Semi-Finalist
  • Roma Short Film Festival 2023
    Roma
    Italy
    Official Selection
  • Madrid International Short Film Festival 2023
    Madrid
    Spain
    Official Selection
  • Portuguese Lemur International Film Festival 2023

    Portugal
    Official Selection
  • Liber Films International Festival 2023
    Athens
    Greece
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Sophia Liu

Sophia Liu is a filmmaker, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter. 

She has studied art history, cinema, theatre, and communications in Paris. She holds a master’s degree in theatre studies from the University of Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle. She now shares her life between Shanghai and Paris. 

As a woman filmmaker, she often addresses gender issues and paradigm shifts in love from a poetic perspective. Her short films include “Ne te retourne pas (2013)”, “The Listener (2018)”, “Absentia (2019)” “Touching Moon (2023)”.
She is the founder of SL Studio, producing commercials internationally, while focusing on art & culture fields through cultural and art projects.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I wrote this short film in 2022 in Shanghai. The extreme living conditions at that time pushed me to think, to hope, and to ask a lot of questions about life and societies that I have ever thought before.
The character of Mangyan came to my mind like an aggregate figure of all women and young queer artists struggling at that exact time and space. I felt un absolute necessity to “paint” that “Tranche de Vie (slice of life)” and tell “Herstory” with the art form that I’m most familiar with: writing and filmmaking.
However, the story is not only about struggles, but more importantly choices that we all need to face and make in life. Who are we deep inside? What kind of person do we want to be? What do we truly want from life? How do we want to live our lives? How to love? How to deal with reality when it goes wrong? How to reach our dreams by pursuing an artistic career? And after all, how to be free?
When Mangyan encounters Siqi, it’s no longer important whether the external world goes right or wrong, since she could finally decide for herself and her own life. On the journey of self-exploring, Mengyan seems finally able to reach her dreams, which is the discovery and confirmation of her true self.