Memories are given to the spirit of the forest in exchange for stories. The memories that someone relinquishes become the forest’s, and are passed on to those who come to the forest. This magical film by Amie Song suggests that memories, stories, and seemingly futile flapping of wings all together help the world endure its sea of sorrow and despair and carry hope forward. Gu Shi begins with a family of four taking refuge in an old house somewhere between the sea and the forest. While the older sister, plagued by nightmares, sinks into a deep slumber, her younger brother suffers a head injury from an accident. To the siblings who appear to suffer from a hereditary illness that causes memory loss, all the parents can do is to tell them the same old stories again and again. A world where one endures by trading memories for stories - the film’s poetic and mythical evocation of suffering and catastrophe is superb.
Amie Song is a Chinese filmmaker who works between New York and China. She holds an MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University. Her short film Three (2024) was selected for La Cinef at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to screen at over 50 film festivals. Gu Shi is her feature directorial debut and was selected for Biennale College Cinema 2026.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
