Shen Kong

Somewhere between euphoria, insecurity and ecstasy: a film about the lockdown and young people’s outlook on life.

A pandemic has broken out. The streets are eerily empty. Bored and out of work, Li You sits around in his flat; Xiao Xiao is not allowed to return to her hometown. Together, the two roam the empty streets, try to procure masks and dive into a passionate love affair. “What does a lockdown feel like, and what prospects remain for what comes next?” asks Chen Guan in his award-winning debut film. Against the backdrop of a seemingly deserted major city, he decides to stage an urban adventure story in which the protagonists make the city their own. The traces they leave behind on boats, merry-go-rounds and rubbish dumps sometimes seem like art actions that defiantly oppose the dreary reality. The ultimate zeitgeist film.

Director