A Farewell
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Country/Region:
China Mainland
Release Year: 2017
Release Year: 2017
Story:
Danni, a young Chinese girl, comes home to pay her respect to her late grandfather. Out of place in the traditional Muslim environment, she unearths a hidden secret of her past and thus embarks on a journey, against her parents’wishes, in the suppressed but mesmerising world of Islamic culture in modern China.
Danni, a young Chinese girl, comes home to pay her respect to her late grandfather. Out of place in the traditional Muslim environment, she unearths a hidden secret of her past and thus embarks on a journey, against her parents’wishes, in the suppressed but mesmerising world of Islamic culture in modern China.
Casts & Crews:
HE Yifei
Directors
Runtime:
13
minutes
Subtitles:
English
Festivals & Awards:
Seattle International Film Festival - Short Film Award Nominee Rochester International Film Festival - Honorable Mentions Official Selections Nashville Film Festival Palm Springs International Shortfest San Diego Asian Film Festival San Joaquin International Film Festival Fajr International Film Festival Cleveland International Film Festival Austin Asian American Film Festival Pacific Islander Film Festival New Haven International Film Festival Carmarthen Bay Film Festival Amarcort Film Festival First Run Film Festival Beijing Indie Short Film Festival Deep Focus Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival - Short Film Award Nominee Rochester International Film Festival - Honorable Mentions Official Selections Nashville Film Festival Palm Springs International Shortfest San Diego Asian Film Festival San Joaquin International Film Festival Fajr International Film Festival Cleveland International Film Festival Austin Asian American Film Festival Pacific Islander Film Festival New Haven International Film Festival Carmarthen Bay Film Festival Amarcort Film Festival First Run Film Festival Beijing Indie Short Film Festival Deep Focus Film Festival
Tags:
#identity, women, #growing up, #minority
Director‘s Statement:
Growing up in a modernised Hui family in Beijing as a millennium means that I’ve experienced the subtle clashes of two cultures in every day of my life. For the most part, I was just a normal kid like everybody else, but when I had to walk away from my friends and classmates during lunch to get food from the special halal section in front of a whole crowd, I could feel the “different” in me. It’s subtle but it is there, looming in the dark. For the 10 year-old me, that walk was the farthest and the most difficult to accomplish. As I grew older, and my understanding for the Hui culture evolved, I’ve often felt torn between the Hui and Han. Which side do I truly belonged to, or can I ever belong to any? That became a question which clouded my identity, and and it lingers still.
The confusion reached to its peak on a chilling New York night of April 2015, when I received a call from my mother in Beijing, that carried the unbearable news of my grandfather’s sudden death.Shocked and devastated, I was grieving not only because we were very close when I was a kid, but also because, to me, he was the only connection I had with my culture. He led me to first know and understand it, and now as I had grown throughout the years, he’s mission in this world was over, and the torch had officially passed onto me. I felt the urge to do something, anything, for him, and for my heritage, for all the outsiders, and for what I called “borderline Muslims” in China. That is when I started writing this film. A Farewell is a story about love, grief, loss and reconnection, and through it, I wish to explore all the nuances and challenges to defining our identities. This film is not just for a muslim girl in China, but for every one out there, who have felt, even for just a split second, that they are outsiders. This is for every person who are still searching for “who they are”.The film does not give all the answers. It is simply a way to help me shed some light on the complex fabric of the conditions of ethnic minorities, particularly Chinese Muslims, and understand the relationship between us the modern generation, and our rich heritage. All I can do is to bring forward some questions, and try to explore the stories truths behind them, as well as be present for the confusion and struggles they will bring about.
My favorite director, Abbas Kiarostami once said: a story begins before we encounters it, and endslong after we turned away. I believe it’s you, the audience, who will help me complete the story. Ihope this film willI hope this film sparks conversations in families and between communities about our cultures, identities, a nd all those things that we leave unsaid on dinner tables.
The confusion reached to its peak on a chilling New York night of April 2015, when I received a call from my mother in Beijing, that carried the unbearable news of my grandfather’s sudden death.Shocked and devastated, I was grieving not only because we were very close when I was a kid, but also because, to me, he was the only connection I had with my culture. He led me to first know and understand it, and now as I had grown throughout the years, he’s mission in this world was over, and the torch had officially passed onto me. I felt the urge to do something, anything, for him, and for my heritage, for all the outsiders, and for what I called “borderline Muslims” in China. That is when I started writing this film. A Farewell is a story about love, grief, loss and reconnection, and through it, I wish to explore all the nuances and challenges to defining our identities. This film is not just for a muslim girl in China, but for every one out there, who have felt, even for just a split second, that they are outsiders. This is for every person who are still searching for “who they are”.The film does not give all the answers. It is simply a way to help me shed some light on the complex fabric of the conditions of ethnic minorities, particularly Chinese Muslims, and understand the relationship between us the modern generation, and our rich heritage. All I can do is to bring forward some questions, and try to explore the stories truths behind them, as well as be present for the confusion and struggles they will bring about.
My favorite director, Abbas Kiarostami once said: a story begins before we encounters it, and endslong after we turned away. I believe it’s you, the audience, who will help me complete the story. Ihope this film willI hope this film sparks conversations in families and between communities about our cultures, identities, a nd all those things that we leave unsaid on dinner tables.
Casts & Crews
HE Yifei
Director
