(FINALIST)
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Original Film Title: Break Up to Make Up
Director’s Name: Runnan Zhao
Writer’s Name: Runnan Zhao
Producer: Runnan Zhao
Country of Origin: China
Country of Filming: China
Language: Chinese
Runtime: 29 minutes
Film Description:
Zheng Xiwen was once a young woman who pursued an artistic and literary life but found herself forced to choose the stability of a corporate career at a critical juncture in her life. After being informed of her breakup, the structured routine of her days brought no sense of security; instead, it deepened her sense of disorientation. Quitting her uninspiring job, growing distant from her family, and grappling with unresolved feelings from a past relationship threw her life into turmoil.
By chance, she reunites with her former love, Chen Shen—a man who once shared her love for literature, dreamed of becoming a high achiever, but now runs a restaurant. Both are striving to find their own paths. Through their nuanced conversations and silences, Xiwen begins to reevaluate her choices and aspirations.
She gradually comes to realize that everyone carries their own “Kinkaku-ji”—a symbol of perfection and ideals. Yet perhaps it is only by relinquishing the obsession with unattainable perfection that one can rediscover their true path forward.