Private Project

At the Same Time

A boy once appeared intermittently in the same place. Years later, he disappears, and an old man begins to sit there. Through prolonged observation of light and landscape, and a quiet, undefined voice, the film traces how human presence and absence unfold within a single space, where the world continues unchanged.

  • CHIH HAO SHEN
    Director
  • CHIH HAO SHEN
    Writer
  • LI HUNG WANG
    Producer
  • MFX Films
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese - Min Nan
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - CHIH HAO SHEN

Chih Hao Shen is an animation and documentary filmmaker whose work explores human existence, memory, and time through restrained visual storytelling.

His debut work received recognition from Rhode Island IFF. His short film 10 Seconds was selected by In The Palace, Fantasporto, and Asolo Art Film Festival (2026). His documentary YinYang Sea won the Grand Prix at Asolo Art Film Festival (2026).

His projects have been presented in international industry contexts, including Clermont-Ferrand, Visions du Réel, Cannes Short Film Corner, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, and Oberhausen.

Beyond filmmaking, he has worked in visual design and digital product development, including licensed merchandise design for The Lord of the Rings franchise in the Chinese-language market, visual work at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and founded and leads a software development company developing animation and visual effects tools within the Apple ecosystem.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This film began with a simple observation of repetition in everyday space: a figure appearing in the same place at different moments in time.

Rather than defining characters or constructing a narrative, I was interested in how a space holds traces of presence, disappearance, and return. The boy and the old man may or may not be connected. This uncertainty is intentional. What matters is not explanation, but the experience of repetition itself.

The voice remains deliberately open, describing without resolving. Time is not presented as linear progression, but as something that quietly accumulates within a fixed location.