Nomination Descriptions

"Hiraeth Code Hiraeth Code"

Chen Meilin, a third-generation Chinese in Thailand, embarked on a journey to her ancestral home in Chaoshan to trace his roots. However, things have changed, and time has passed, and her couldn't find the old Chen family residence at all. Feeling lost, Chen Meilin smelled the long-awaited Chaoshan braised goose at the end of the alley. At the Lion Head Braised Goose restaurant, Master Li, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, was preparing braised goose, and the female manager warmly welcomed Chen Meilin. After tasting the Lion Head Braised Goose, Chen Meilin couldn't help but feel that his grandfather had never been able to replicate the delicious taste of his hometown due to the differences in the foreign land and water. Young Chinese abroad may have their identification with their ancestry diluted due to the integration of foreign cultures, while the intricate process of the non-material cultural heritage Chaoshan braised goose craftsmanship has led to a succession gap among its practitioners. The identification of Chinese people with their ancestry, their pursuit of Chinese culture, and the preservation of skills by non-material cultural heritage practitioners are essentially about "keeping the cultural flame alive", all of which contribute to maintaining the continuity of Chinese culture.

《为鬼为蜮》

A man fakes a kidnapping for online fame, only to fall into a deadly trap of betrayal and revenge.

《⽯春信》

Elder Shi Chunxin, in rural northern China, who miraculously gaining the ability to heal and divine to help those in need, explaining it as "the way of life—just purify the mind within."

“A Chronicle of a Great Life”

A Chronicle of a Great Life employs a lyrical, prose-style narrative that follows four young graduates navigating the transition into adulthood. Facing overlapping struggles in life, work and love.

"At the Edge of the Tide"

On the eve of graduation, Liwen returns to his coastal hometown. While sorting through a deceased relative's belongings, he begins to question what it means to leave, stay, and move forward.

《⼗⾥铺的根》

Roots of Shilipu is a documentary. Starting with my journey back home to reconstruct the ancestral house, the film centers on my stubborn, flawed grandfather as its core character, tracing the lifepaths and generational shifts of three generations of our family in Shilipu. Centered on the spiritual motif of "roots", the documentary explores people’s attachment to and perseverance for their hometown through simple, genuine slices of daily life, unfolding a warm tale of hometown, kinship and heritage.

《⼩城喜事》

To escape her oppressive original family, Duoduo married her lover Shi Tao. Her parents demanded a high betrothal gift and insisted Duoduo’s name be on Shi Tao’s property certificate. Shi Tao fulfilled all requirements, but his mother secretly removed Duoduo’s name from the certificate. Duoduo’s mother made a scene at the wedding, breaking the two families apart. Duoduo tried to reconcile, but Shi Tao backed down under pressure, and they broke up. Later, Duoduo found she was pregnant. After failing to reach Shi Tao, she planned to have an abortion. Knowing the truth, Shi Tao took Duoduo away and held a special wedding for her a month later.

"A Mostley Clown"

regarded as a clown, while wandering with his mentally disturbed mother. In a traffic accident, the homeless man Chen Dazhi sacrifices his life heroically to save a child, becoming a household hero and thus unveiling his mysterious past. Thirty years prior, Chen Dazhi worked as a rural teacher. After his younger sister died in an accident, his mother suffered a mental breakdown from overwhelming grief and longing for her daughter. Following numerous failed medical treatments, Chen Dazhi put on his late sister’s clothes to amuse his mother and kept cross-dressing for thirty years.

《勇敢女孩合唱团》

This film is grounded in the contemporary context of China's rural revitalization, with the Miao and Dong villages in the heart of Moon Mountain, Qiandongnan, Guizhou serving as its narrative setting. Through the growth journey of a group of mountain girls forming a choir, it creates a realistic work that combines social insight with artistic exploration. The film's narrative structure employs a dual-helix framework interweaving time and space, with two parallel threads: Feng Ji, a volunteer teacher, forming the choir, and Zhou Qinzhī, the village Party secretary, advancing the bridge construction project. The story unfolds through seasonal markers such as the Beginning of Spring and Grain Rain, embedding the characters' growth into the natural rhythm and ultimately weaving a rural epic rooted in the soil yet gazing toward the stars.

“Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness”

Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness is the first documentary film to comprehensively depicted the 14-year arduous journey of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese aggression. We strive to infuse the grand historical narrative with the warmth of individual lives. Through a large number of previously unreleased images, first-person accounts, and an international perspective, we aim to construct a true and three-dimensional picture of the resistance. We use geography as the axis and time as the thread, integrating film and digital restoration techniques with CG animation to bring the long-forgotten history back to life, eliminating the gap between young audience and history, and conveying the national spirit of “the mountains and rivers bear witness, the spirit endures”.

“Against All Odds”

In 1944, during Japan's occupation of Hong Kong in World War Il, a U.S.Flying Tigers pilot named James is shot down during a bombing mission. Members of the Dongjiang guerrilla force are sent to infiltrate a Japanese club to rescue him. Meanwhile, undercover agent Huan Shao is on a mission to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese officer. When the two operations collide, their cover is blown, and they must fight side by side through Japan’s land, sea and air blockade. At dawn over Dapeng Bay, they make a desperate bid for survival.

“Chengdu Makes Dreams Come True”

Youth, dreams and passion burning bright; The world feels the heartbeat of Chengdu!

The 31st Summer Universiade was forced to be postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chengdu Embodies the Dream follows the ups and downs of global Universiade participants both on and off the field as well as throughout the event preparation. Through vivid and authentic ordinary people, it vividly presents the varied experiences of athletes from all nations amid the intertwined twists of dreams and reality, success and failure, tears and glory. It objectively and profoundly reflects the uncertainty of youth and the harsh realities along the path of pursuing dreams.

Breaking away from the fixed formula of traditional documentaries, the director adopts an entirely observational documentary narrative throughout the film, making it a high-quality production crafted in the style of an international sports documentary feature.

《⼈类最古⽼的笑话》

A new graduate who only catches trash while fishing travels back to his high school after diving into a trash can. There he meets a classmate from back then, who also never catches anything but rubbish when fishing. Will they overcome countless hardships and become world-famous fishing masters?

“Grandma’s New Year”

As New Year approaches, Grandma dusts the bedroom empty for a year and eagerly prepares festive goods.

Reunion arrives. Yet the young bury themselves in phones, adults huddle around mahjong, children stare at games — while Grandma sits alone, watching the old TV. Physical presence and emotional absence unfold together, a paradoxical family portrait.

Seven days of fleeting festivity exhaust her yearlong longing. After farewell, she stands outside the empty house, gazing at the red debris left behind. Silence rushes in like a tide.

Through a grandchild's gaze, this film traces a left-behind elder's emotional journey: from anticipation, to blossoming, to prolonged loss. This is not one woman's story. It is the silent echo of millions who wait.

"Warehouse 28"

Warehouse 28 is a 20-minute documentary feature centered on the "No. 28 Warehouse"—a vintage goods warehouse in Xindu District, Chengdu—and its curator, Mike. The film documents how independent photographer Mike spent eight years and his life savings salvaging tens of thousands of discarded objects from demolition sites, junkyards, and flea markets to create a "time sanctuary" for the people of Chengdu. Employing a hybrid narrative structure that combines "ladder progressive" and "painting-style" (circular) approaches, the film unfolds across six thematic units to explore how abandoned objects transform from private emotional relics into public memory carriers that can be perceived, engaged with, and transmitted. At its core, the film examines memory, abandonment, and guardianship. Through intimate close-ups of aged objects, contemplative warehouse space shots, and handheld follow footage of Mike, the film presents the forgotten everyday moments within rapid urban renewal, responding to contemporary issues of urban memory preservation while providing an audio-visual case study for material culture research. The work was recommended by the supervisor for competition and received an award.

“Guard”

A strand of long hair carries the village's age-old warmth, while a homecoming bridges the gap between two generations. Guard follows Pan Yue, a young returnee who gradually comes to appreciate local traditions like rice-water hair care and lifelong hair cultivation. She finds her inner growth amid the village landscapes. These time-honored folk customs blend with cultural tourism and new media, glowing with fresh vitality in the modern era. With soft cinematography and the tender bond between the two generations, the film explores inheritance and innovation, presenting a lyrical ode to the enduring heritage of ethnic culture and rural spirits.

“Later Life”

The documentary unfolds from the perspective of "I", narrating the story of how, after the sudden passing of the grandfather in 2023, due to the physical condition of the grandmother, she was unable to live independently and had to move from the sparsely populated village to live with her younger daughter's family. The younger daughter's family was busy most of the time and did not understand the grandmother's true thoughts. However, the grandmother had always wanted to return to the ancestral home to preserve the traces of her deceased grandfather's past life, fearing that someone might break in and destroy them... Using this as a clue, the documentary shows the grandmother's remembrance and recollection of her grandfather, records the authentic picture of family life, and conveys the humanistic expression related to family bonds and the separation and death; at the same time, it fully records the local sacrificial folk customs in Lixian County, Hunan Province, evoking the collective memory of rural tomb worship rituals.

“ADHD”

This work is an experimental film. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder. It is not merely a mental condition such as depression or anxiety, but rather, like myopia or asthma, a physiological issue that requires scientific understanding and management. While preparing for his final-year IELTS exam, the director struggled significantly with the listening section and thus came to understand ADHD—a condition he had previously unknown about. Through this film, he aims to raise awareness of ADHD among a broader audience and to offer a reflection on his own student years marred by challenges related to this condition.

“Villain Speech”

Senior Three art students Luo Runxi and his best friend Liu Chengxian ordered takeout to celebrate Dandan’s birthday, only to have their phones confiscated by their head teacher. When the pair snuck back to retrieve their devices, Luo Runxi noticed his rival Peng Wentao was hiding a heavy secret—his mother was undergoing surgery. He then skipped class with Peng Wentao and rushed to the hospital. Thanks to the head teacher turning a blind eye and his friend lending a hand, the two made it to the hospital without a hitch.

“Shadow of Wood, Gleam of Gold”

This work is a documentary focusing on Chaozhou woodcarving, a national-level Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. Centered on representative inheritors from different generations, including Cheng Weixin and Ke Shaoling, the film presents a comprehensive record of the craft's full process-from material selection and knife techniques (dao fa), to multi-layer openwork carving (tong diao), and
final assembly (zhuang qian).It articulates the artistic essence of the craft while revealing its profound cultural depth and aesthetic value, offering it to audiences both in China and internationally.

The film adopts an interwoven narrative of technique and individual lives, entering through personal perspectives to portray the inheritance and evolution of traditional craftsmanship in contemporary society. It documents artisans' commitment to tradition alongside their pursuit of innovation.

Beyond presenting the complete technical system of Chaozhou woodcarving, the film also draws from the lived experiences of the craftsmen, exploring their emotions and choices amid social transformation. In doing so, it reflects the enduring vitality of traditional craftsmanship within a modern context.

“Fitness Tata”

On Planet Tata lives an ordinary young man with no talent or privilege, but a strong will to persist. Faced with a choice between giving up and striving, he chose to keep going. From working out alone to gathering companions, they motivate each other. Beyond fitness, this story is about self-improvement. Bodies age, yet youthful spirit endures.

“Cocoon”

This film is inspired by the "graduation syndrome" that contemporary college students commonly face. We visualize the intangible pressure of taking the postgraduate entrance examination and job hunting as a devouring "black fog” and explore the "alienation" and "loss" of inner warmth that people experience under heavy pressure. The work combines Pixar-style 3D anthropomorphic animals with real campus scenes and features them. It is characterized by a fantastical exterior wrapped around a realistic core. The creative concept we want to convey is: reality is like a wall, anxiety is like a cocoon, but as long as that "warmth" of smiling towards tomorrow in the heart does not go out, we can always break through the high wall and become the "shining catcher" of our own lives.

“Soulbound Divinity”

This work is presented as an AI animated short film. The story revolves around the coming-of-age journey of Chen Mingzhe, a boy from a small coastal town in Minnan (southern Fujian). Due to academic pressure and misunderstandings with his peers, he grows to reject his hometown culture. However, at a moment of imminent danger, he establishes a connection with a deity through his unique innate ability. With the deity’s help, he is led back through the memories hidden deep within his family’s past, eventually coming to understand his father’s silent yet profound love, and achieving both cultural identity and intergenerational reconciliation.

Through warm and delicate visuals, the work illustrates the Chinese concept of familial love — “unspoken in words but deeply expressed in actions.” In essence, the worship of deities is a form of cultural self-identification and emotional attachment to those close to us. Understanding and perception matter far more than words.

"Home Is The Place Where The Heart Belongs"

Amid lush green bamboos in the Majianglong Diaolou Cluster of Baine Town stand a cluster of century-old architectures that combine Chinese and Western styles. From the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, local residents left tor Southeast Asia, North America and Oceania to make a living amid social unrest and hardship. They lived frugally and sent their hard-earned savings back home, building diaolous and mansions featuring both defensive designs and Western-style ornamentation.

Jiaojiao, the protagonist and a descendant of overseas Chinese, sets foot on this land bonded by blood, guided by a line from an elder' s letter: “I wait for the wind, and wait for you, in Baihe Town.” Told in lyrical prose and poetic tones, this is a heartwarming story about searching for one's home and ancestral roots.

《育望》

In the context of the rapid development and 'involution' of modern society, survival and reproduction are inherently animal instincts. However, in human society, even the act of 'reproduction' seems to have evolved into an unstoppable 'points competition.' Visualizing this competitive relationship and transforming it into animated storytelling would present a different and interesting animation.

《浮槎》

Like a nocturnal raft adrift in darkness, a mysterious invitation unfolds Lin Xiaoman’s three-year quest for her missing sister. A masked banquet brims with hidden agendas, while the film left by LinXi holds the secret borne by the raft. From Suizhou to Jiangmen, the shadow of the deal deepens, trust frays against deception. Will this voyage of kinship end in redemption—or plunge into the abyss?

“The Next Step”

The micro-documentary "Next Step" focuses on migrant street vendors from diverse professional backgrounds in contemporary Chinese society. It follows four individuals—Wu Yujian, a young man who failed as a fried noodle vendor; Chen Zhuo and Meng Huiling, recent college graduates; and A Ping, a homemaker—each from different walks of life, documenting their personal journeys into street vending. Through their stories, the film conveys an optimistic, resilient spirit and offers encouragement and emotional comfort, inspiring viewers to bravely face life's challenges.

《桑榆非晚》

Adopting a parallel documentary structure, Never Too Late follows three upbeat seniors of disparate generations in Lingnan. A war veteran preserves military memorabilia and joins a community waist-drum troupe. A retired art designer practices traditional calligraphy, piano and dough sculpture, providing free public art lessons for children. A local tailor repurposes leftover fabrics to craft apparel and plush accessories in spare rooms. Centered on active aging, the documentary rejects stereotyped miserable depictions of the elderly. It leverages AIGC to restore archival footage, complemented by hand-drawn animation and relatives’ interviews. Small daily moments interpret oriental life philosophy and build intergenerational empathy.

"The Tea Life Of Young Teochew"

The director's inspiration came from witnessing young people in Fenghuang Town yearn to promote their local tea yet hesitate to film due to a lack of confidence. This moved her to embark on a three-year participatory video project with the community — putting cameras in their hands, teaching techniques, and letting them capture their home, tea mountains, and daily lives from an insider's cultural perspective. Told from the director's first-person point of view, this film records the journey of young people dedicated to preserving Chaozhou's tea culture. It is more than a story about tea — it is a testament to home and perseverance.

《冰河纪⽣存指南》

In a small town in Northeast China, sixteen-year-old A Cheng lives with his stepmother Li Jie, together caring for his paralyzed father. The news of demolition cracks opens their fragile peace—the compensation is far from enough for a new home, rendering years of endurance seemingly futile. A Cheng immerses himself in Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus, seeking to explain life’s absurdity through philosophy. Li Jie struggles between the urge to escape and the weight of staying. Old Zhou, the bookstall keeper, offers his own earthy folk philosophy in a thick Northeastern twang, presenting another way to survive. As the bulldozers close in, A Cheng chooses to step into the early spring mud with a pair of pristine white sneakers—enacting a small, solemn ritual: stamping the mark of existence for all the forgotten “snow children.”

“Dispel the Clouds and Mist”

Some are trapped in their youthful recklessness, while others are lost in the direction of their future path. The difficulties encountered on the road to growth often seem insurmountable at the time. Can a sudden realization truly change one's life? Can we truly avoid separation if we don't say goodbye? Three young boys who grew up together, only to realize at their respective crossroads in life, that brandishing a fist doesn't make one a hero, and putting down books doesn't necessarily mean growing up. The shackles that trap us can only be broken free by ourselves.

"Paradise In The South Of The City"

On the fringes of Huai'an City lie the ruins of demolished neighborhoods. Among the rubble live unbridled youths who have retained their freewheeling, unruly nature—out of step with the civilized city yet keeping a certain distance from actual crime.

One of these youths, Liu Xiaobei, becomes mentally incapacitated after inhaling "laughing gas" (a drug). His friends—Zhang Mingliang, Li Qiang, and Liu Xiaodong—set out to settle accounts with Wang Jianjun, the dealer who sold the gas. Along the way, they befriend a poet who creates his work among the ruins.

As they search for Wang Jianjun, the trio is forced, by shifting interests and various circumstances, to confront reality and their own selves. The once herd-like existence begins to crumble and fall apart.

"A Life of Aspiration"

The film Aspiration in a Lifetime tells the life story of Qin Zhiping, a renowned Errenzhuan artist. Where the artist lives, the art survives.

《寻找格萨尔》

At Tibet’s Purog Kangri Glacier, Gesar singer Tsering Gabu, facing cultural decline, realizes he is Gesar. On a snowy peak, he sings *The Birth of Gesar* as his child is born, their voices merging across heaven and earth.

《厝角头》

The inspiration for Corner of the Roof came from a field study of Chaoshan porcelain inlay. Faced with this "art on the rooftop," we wondered how to bring it "down to earth and back to life." The short film combines live footage — preserving the authentic texture of ancestral halls and old houses — with hand-drawn 2D animation that brings the porcelain figures to life, capturing both the mischievousness of mythical beasts and the elegance of immortals. Instead of a documentary approach, the story unfolds through the eyes of a little girl named Mui Zai, weaving a tale of courage, protection, and acceptance that turns the inlay art into characters audiences can connect with. Across just over six minutes, details like a piece of red peach cake and a watching immortal reflect our understanding of digitally revitalizing intangible heritage: tradition's warmth must be conveyed through contemporary narrative, so the art on the rooftop can be seen, remembered, and shared.

《寻途》

The inspiration for the creation of "Pathfinder" comes from a reflection on the homogenization caused by the excessive reliance on 3D and AI in the animation industry. The author uses the humanistic temperature of hand drawn Japanese Sailulu to combat algorithmic alienation, while drawing on the criticism of the core of capital technology collusion in "Cyberpunk: Edge Walker", and deconstructs traditional hero redemption stories through narrative experiments such as flashbacks and endings. This is a philosophical fable about "truth and choice". The opposition between Sun City and Eternal Night Ruins is a metaphor for class solidification, and the protagonist's blindness in the ending is a complete rejection of the alienated world after seeing the truth clearly.

"Life is Still Going On"

Two people with entirely different life paths crossed paths through a mutual acquaintance. Music unexpectedly served as their comfort and bond. Warmth grew between them as they drew near each other, granting the confused soul the courage to chase dreams once more.

Yet a disparity in heartfelt feelings gradually pulled them apart. In the end, they went back to their respective original lives, becoming brief yet tender passers-by in one another’s journey. Springs come and fade, people arrive and leave. Life keeps moving forward all the same.

“Nowhere to Place”

“Nowhere to Place” employs subtle realist brushstrokes to depict the life challenges faced by two generations within Liu Yucheng’s family residing in Shanghai’s suburbs. The film explores modern individuals’ spiritual disorientation and emotional dilemmas while navigating familial bonds, collective memory, and urban transformation. Through intergenerational conflicts and divergent survival aspirations, the film reveals individual destinies shaped by the interplay between traditional values and modernity. It also highlights the human compromises made when confronting mortality, solitude, and the relentless pace of change. The restrained cinematography contemplates the existential struggles of ordinary people, allowing emotional power to manifest through silence. Ultimately, true “settlement” may not lie in physical space, but in the unspoken understanding and empathetic connections between human beings.

"The Second Apple"

“The Second Apple" tells the story of a young woman who racks up huge debts from overspending and, under pressure from debt collectors, ends up selling her 'roommate.' The work looks at relationships through an 'objectification' lens, showing how people reflect on themselves caught between debt and desire.

"Where the Moon Rises"

This work unfolds from a feminine perspective, narrating the story of a destitute woman who passes away unexpectedly. Her childhood confidant embarks on a quest to find the spot closest to the moon for her. With delicate strokes, it captures the quiet guardianship and tender mutual uplift shared between women.

"Ancient Shadow"

Ancient shadow narrates the story of Lin Mo, a son who has lived far away from home for years. Following his father’s death, he sorts through relics and restores old photos, gradually piecing together his father’s unspoken worries and the visits he never got to make. Told from a retrospective angle, the work subtly depicts the silent rift between father and son, and the belated epiphany the protagonist finally attains.

“Traces Of The Wind"

Traces Left by the Wind centers on an intimate relationship sealed away by time. From the perspective of
an emotional onlooker, the work delicately portrays the emptiness and obsession behind imitative love,
interpreting the emotional essence that winds leave no lasting marks and people and events will eventually fade into acceptance.

《520·Grain Buds》

Realistic feature film 520·Grain Buds is written and directed by Guo Tong, shot on location in Taishun, Zhejiang Province. It centers on the hardships and kindness of ordinary people from the grassroots. The protagonist Gu Yaqin is abandoned by her husband after his bankruptcy. Raising her daughter Xiaoman, who lives with mild autism, alone, she works as a night-shift taxi driver to make ends meet and protect her child through all struggles. The film also depicts other little people bearing heavy life burdens: Chen Ben, a one-legged deliveryman, and Captain He, a security guard. Multiple storylines interweave, showing the individual crises in ordinary lives. The title comes from the solar term Grain Buds, which implies that life does not need perfection; small satisfactions hold warmth. Avoiding deliberate sentimentality, the film explores understanding, mutual support and kindness between people amid daily hardships and simple joys. It delivers quiet, touching human warmth and contemplates love, perseverance and the life philosophy that contentment in small things brings peace.