Synopsis
Liu Xian will always remember the loneliest and bluest of summers when she was 15 years old. When her mother goes to Africa to provide medical aid as a doctor, she is thrown into the care of her father who has been divorced from her mother for many years. Her father’s photo studio is struggling, and he fools around with the widow who works at the front desk all day, ignoring her needs of Xian. She feels that she has become an outcast until Jin Mingmei appears like a ray of shining light and illuminates her lonely life. Mingmei’s wanton youthful vigor attracts Liu Xian and leads her into an unknown and strange world. During this restless summer, the ignorance and impulse of youth leave an unforgettable mark on Liu Xian’s life.
Geng Zihan
Geng Zihan was born in Beijing in 1996 and graduated from The Central Academy of Drama. Her work includes the short film “Green Screen” (2021), which was selected by the 25TH LA Shorts International Film Festival. Her current debut feature film, “A Song Sung Blue” (2020), was selected as one of the Top Five of the 5th CFDG Young Directors Support Program. Her short film “A Ray of Sunshine” was selected in competition at the 13th First International Film Festival and nominated for Best Short Story.
Director's statement
Adolescence is an isolated island, and our protagonist Liu Xian is experiencing a particularly lonely period. Her mother’s departure that summer forces her to feign being independent and mature. When she is forced to face her father, who was absent from her youth, she feels the difficulty of opening her heart on a deeper level. Once bright colors appear in her life, Liu Xian is eager to understand the outside world. She is attracted by such freshness. The ambiguous relationship combined with emotions, passion, hesitation, and temptation, all form a frightening but persistent undercurrent through the restless summer. Youth is changeable. In Liu Xian’s eyes, this new solid relationship also wavers and ultimately slips. She can’t control her own growth, let alone the world that attracts her. All these are shared memories of our own youth. Liu Xian appears invigorated and always keeps this feeling of youth alive throughout.
