In a wild era, humans discover they can live indefinitely if they do not dream. They attempt to wake the ‘Fantasmers,’ people who continue to dream in secret, causing chaos in history and making time jump. The people tasked with waking Fantasmers to keep time linear are called ‘The Big Others.’ One of them, played by Shu Qi, searches for a Fantasmer (Jackson Yee) who has been dreaming in hiding for years. When she finally confronts him, the Big Other allows him one last dream, and the Fantasmer dreams four times across 100 years. Bi Gan’s Resurrection opens with a silent film-style prologue. Through the Fantasmer’s dreams, it offers variations on and pays homages to sci-fi, expressionism, noir, slapstick comedy, thriller, and other genres, and, in the last dream, culminates in a remarkable, over 30-minute long take that is like Bi Gan’s signature. The four dream sequences are captivating short films in themselves—each with distinct genres and characters, connected only by the Fantasmer’s presence—collaged together as nested narratives. With its epilogue showing collapsing theaters and audiences fading to light, Resurrection is Bi Gan’s affectionate tribute to cinema’s centennial and a little too soon for nostalgia for the era of theaters. Yet as Resurrection proves, dreamers—like Fantasmers, like Bi Gan himself—will continue to create new films, and the era of theaters will never end.
Bi Gan’s critically acclaimed debut feature Kaili Blues (2015) won the Best Emerging Director Award at the 2015 Locarno International Film Festival, the Best New Director Award at the 2015 Golden Horse Awards, and the Montgolfière d'Or Award at the 2015 Nantes Three Continents Film Festival, amongst others. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018) premiered in Un Certain Regard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Cinematography, Best Original Film Score and Best Sound Effects at the 2018 Golden Horse Awards. Resurrection (2025) further solidified his global presence, winning the Special Award in Competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and the Busan Award for Artistic Contribution Award in Competition at the 2025 Busan International Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2025, No. 30
zh-hansMain posterMain poster for zh-hanszh-hantMain poster for zh-hantzh-hant-hkMain poster for zh-hant-hkenMain poster for endeMain poster for deelMain poster for elesMain poster for esfrMain poster for frnlMain poster for nlruMain poster for ruukMain poster for ukelenenesesfrruruzh-hanszh-hanszh-hantzh-hant
