Shiyu Liu

In a stifling mise en scène that leaves no room for spontaneity, affection or rebellion, father, mother and daughter perform their rigid roles. Each follows their own script, out of sync and devoid of actual interaction. Their evocative choreography reveals small neuroses, fractures in the façade.

After failing to find her place in the city, Jialing returns to her borderland hometown and takes up work again in a rundown nightclub. As she tries to rebuild her life, her estranged father reappears, hoping to reconnect before the holidays.