Burn the Film

The hotel room as a place where everyone is a stranger. A place that is yours for just a moment. A temporarily intimate space entered by a maid in order to clean it while, if possible, not leaving a trace of her visit. Each episode of Stranger is set in such a place, and each is captured in one long take. Weaving together a series of episodic stories – some humorous and absurd, some poignant and mysterious – that all unfold within a seemingly confined space, Stranger explores the idea of home while being away from it, and sheds light on the distinctive yet universal experiences of isolation and loneliness.

A stifling summer day. A small town in China, where everything feels stagnant. Middle school dropouts Cheng (14), Zhang(14), and Li(13), each burdened by their own troubles, hatch a plan to escape the town. Broke and desperate, they wander around the streets, looking for ways to "make money." Eventually, they set out on a reckless robbery, and what begins as an ordinary day ends violently... The film follows them through this oppressive day, delving into the dark corners of adolescence. Their acts are brutal, yet they themselves are brutalized by a world indifferent to their struggles.

Hong Kong as seen through a cab window. Inhabitants discuss their lives, problems and dreams as they are driven to their destination through the chaotic streets of Hong Kong.

Thirteen dinners of a Chinese migrant worker's family over the course of fourteen months. The film portrays a series of random occurrences. Joys, frustrations and the struggle for survival. The meals unfold in real-time through thirteen static, long takes. Each take captures with vivid detail the reality of the relationships between the different family members. As the seasons unfold, so does time and the echoes for better working conditions penetrate the frame. Issues such as the one-child-policy and the possibilities for better wages weigh heavily on the minds of the three-generation family.

Weaving together footage filmed and broadcast by little-known Chinese live-streaming anchors, who struggle with real-life face-to-face social interaction because of their identity, disability and social-economic status, this cinematic collage explores how individuals satisfy their cravings for human connection through virtual togetherness, and how these virtual relationships challenge standard definitions of companionship.

There are the images of before, the images of after and the letters. The images of after come first, they stem from the same surveillance camera in Wuhan, empty streets that only throng with people again on April 4th, 2020.

In a society obsessed with economic development, the old and the young are often ignored. A young man from a rural area is hired to take care of an old man living on a farm. The old man stands firmly on keeping his home, while the young man works hard to make a life for him and his girlfriend. However, the two are met with the harshness of a society that's leaving them behind. In the end, they become victims to a fate they did not choose.

A blissful night is unexpectedly interrupted by a sound from downstairs. Different reactions are triggered as well as the relentless indifference.

Starting from a photography workshop for "immigrant children", the filmmaker focuses on Qin, in a harsh and unsettling portrait.