Synopsis

On a normal, boring workday, Nurse Cecily follows her favorite patient Ahno's boxing match on the radio after he is discharged from the hospital, while caring for the other patients in her own special way: the one who drinks behind the nurse's back, the couple who secretly date, the one who hit the wall out of desperation, the one who leave cute stickers and blood stains on their beds... As Ahno's match approaches, Cecily's worries surface; until a Mercury Man comes to her afternoon dream with wounds that grows dandelions...

Curators’ note

Director’s bio

Xiaoyi Zhong is a writer-director and visual artist from both Guangdong and Chongqing, China. She went to the School of Physics at Peking University due to her fascination with imagining the universe, and then switched to an art major, and is currently enrolled in an MFA in film at Columbia University. The climate and culture of sub-tropical China have nurtured her cinematic aesthetics and sensitivity. She is adept at combining multi-layered material in unconventional narrative structures, exploring audio-visual experiments in storytelling and characterization, and oscillating between subtle emotion and whimsical humor. Her creations aim to add a touch of poetry and childlike wonder to the world, while firmly expressing her belief in love and beauty.

Director‘s statement

In the hospital created by Boxing Day, the soft and beautiful things I hold dear- innocence, childhood, gentleness, dreams, lovable people... are glowing in the gloom shrouded by illness, that's what I want to bring to the world. For me, love and beauty have always been the most worthwhile values to put into practice, in a world full of misfortunes and dystopias; yet at the same time, it seems that we need to repeatedly navigate through the sufferings of life: how to act? The inspiration for this story was born when I wrote, "Every scab comes from a love." - Love brings all healing and beauty, but to love also requires enduring pain. For powerful hearts, don't stop loving just because we're afraid of pain.

Festival & Awards

FIRST International Film Festival（2024）- First Pioneer - Jury Prize

2025 3rd MINT CHINESE FILM FESTIVAL Competition Sections World Premiere

Casts

Siyao Hu

Credits