Lei, who lives in Beijing with her girlfriend Li Bei, returns to her hometown of Harbin for the New Year. Torn between her relationship with Li Bei and her family’s expectations, Lei brings a man home to pretend to be her boyfriend for her family. When Li Bei unexpectedly turns up in Harbin, the situation takes a turn, and Lei finds herself at a crossroads. Between a mother who has spent her life sacrificing her own happiness and a daughter who wants to live up to her mother’s expectations, the greater the sacrifices and expectations, the more they cannot say. The film addresses the everyday yet deeply rooted conflicts within family relationships, capturing the tension between fulfilling one’s familial obligations and living one’s own life. An intensely personal story that nevertheless resonates universally - it is, in the end, our story.
A writer-director. Her short film FISH EYE (2015) won the Best Short Film Award at the USA Film Festival. Her feature screenplay UNDER THE SNOW was a semifinalist for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2020. She is set to write and direct one of the episodes of HER OWN CHOICE, an anthology series produced by HBO Asia and Infinitus Films Hong Kong. Big Little Things, her feature directorial debut, was selected for the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
