Private Project

The Distance Between Us

After my younger sister passed away, I returned to the only photograph we had together.

Through repeated acts of looking, the image and time slowly begin to drift apart.

Sometimes what remains after someone is gone is not memory, but a presence that can no longer be reached.

  • Chih Hao Shen
    Director
  • Chih Hao Shen
    Writer
  • MFX Films
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 8, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese - Min Nan
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • 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.

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Director Statement

After my younger sister passed away, I found myself repeatedly returning to the only photograph we had together.

It was not a particularly precious memory.
We were never very close, and after growing up, we never took another photograph together.

As time passed, I began to realize that my memory of her had become smaller than the photograph itself.

I cannot truly return to the past.
I can only remain in front of the same image, looking at it through different ways of seeing.

This film is not an attempt to reconstruct her or restore memory completely.
Instead, it is a prolonged act of looking — questioning whether an image can continue existing for someone after they are gone.

A photograph is originally a still moment.
But the longer I looked at it, the more I felt that time had not completely stopped.

Some things do not disappear.
They simply remain at a certain moment.

And perhaps all I wanted was to remember a little more of her.