Liu Jiayin
Directing
Biography
Liu Jiayin is a Chinese independent filmmaker and educator, born in Beijing in 1981. She has made two experimental features combining documentary and narrative elements, Oxhide and Oxhide II, both of which received international awards.
Known For
Wen Shan is a mediocre screenwriter struggling to make a living in Beijing. Commercial projects are left undone, and his own stories fall by the wayside. He lives a stagnant life in a fast growing city. By chance, he begins to write eulogies for a living. He meets the families of the deceased, carefully observes, listens to the stories, and at last, puts pen to paper. As he restores the lives of others, he finds his own place in the city and finally realizes that ordinary people can take the center stage too.
All Ears
Director Liu Jiayin casts her parents and herself as fictionalized members of a Beijing family that has fallen on hard times and ekes out an existence by making bags out of oxhide for sale.
Oxhide
4 years after Oxhide (2005), director Liu Jiayin and her parents reprise their roles for one night as they make and enjoy dumplings.
Oxhide II
A short film commissioned by a hotel in Beijing, The Opposite House.