Selected and introduced by Parastoo Anoushahpour.

In this unflinching portrait, Zhang Wenqian turns her camera to her own family upon her return from studying abroad. Rituals of existence unfold in a multigenerational family home in mainland China. Structural confines of the rooms, orientation of the building, changing light of the days, sound moving through walls, TV playing in different rooms, all become elements that tell of the fragile foundation of the family unit within the changing sociopolitical reality of China today. Two life accounts in particular unfold: those of her mother and her father. The former is anxious about the future, the latter constantly searching the past. Filmed over two years, Zhang constructs a gentle balance between the tenderness and the violence of relating. Long takes reveal histories of struggle and trauma as well as moments of bliss and connection. Scenes of the family eating together with their backs to the camera punctuate moments of intense confrontation. Zhang is almost always in the frame, patient and searching like her camera, which is left recording. Within the confines of the apartment, her calm and fierce attitude pushes the limits of what it means to collaborate with others and the ethics of representation while raising profound questions about the nature of love and responsibility.

• Sektion Section: Film
• Programm Programme: A Long Journey Home