Director: Pan Yue
Screenwriter: Pan Yue
Cast: Dou Juntao / Ma Kaixin
Genre: Short Film
Country/Region: China / UK
Language: Jinyun Dialect
Release Date: 2023-05-22 (Cannes Film Festival)
Runtime: 28 minutes
Also Known As: Talking to the River
IMDb: tt27547624
 
 
Xiao Kai, a left-behind child in a rural village, hopes to spend summer vacation with his parents in the city. But when he learns his mother is pregnant with a second child, he has to stay in the village for another summer. After an unbearably hot and anxious day, Xiao Kai sleepwalks at night, wandering alone to the river to play in the water. A shaman is called in to perform a soul-calling ritual for him and pray for his ailing grandfather. Xiao Kai never sleepwalks again, but fire keeps appearing in his dreams...
Director Pan Yue, born in 1997, studied at the London Film School. His film Summer Backstage was selected for the 2023 Cannes Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes). The film is built around the visual motifs of water and fire, using rich everyday details and raw, natural performances to evoke the characters' inner worlds.

Cannes Directors' Fortnight
Shanghai International Film Festival
Pingyao International Film Festival and other major international festivals
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