We Never Answer The Question – dir. Bangyang Xiong

Original Film Title: We Never Answer The Question

Director’s Name: Bangyang Xiong

Writer’s Name: Bangyang Xiong

Producer: Bangyang Xiong

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 11 minutes 7 seconds

Film Description:

This film tells the story of an elderly woman who has spent most of her life living in another region. Uneducated and illiterate, she finds it difficult to integrate into her current environment in Jinchang, Gansu, where she was relocated from her hometown of Wuhan, Hubei, due to the extensive migration in China driven by the necessity of development in a special era. Whether interacting with her children or grandchildren, she feels out of place, intensifying her homesickness. Pouring her true feelings and emotions into phone conversations with relatives back in Wuhan, she finds they too are unable to solve her problems. With little time left, she continues to search for the warmth she longs for. Living in a distant place, she misses her hometown more and more, feeling it becomes increasingly distant, like it is somewhere else entirely. Through her longing and perseverance, she embodies the universal quest for belonging and the enduring connection to one’s roots.