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Original Film Title: HUNTING
Director’s Name: Li XU
Writer’s Name: Li XU
Producer: Li XU
Country of Origin: China
Country of Filming: China
Language: Chinese
Runtime: 9 minutes 45 seconds
Film Description:
“HUNTING” is a cultural video work that combines documentary and experimental characteristics. The film invites indigenous performers from Shiti Village, Longshan County, Xiangxi, Hunan Province, to use palm leaves and tree bark as costumes to recreate a primitive hunting ritual through performance – from observing the weather, assembling teams, searching for and catching prey, to worworship heaven, earth and mountain gods, sharing food, celebrating the success of the hunt, and finally ending with ritual activities such as reproductive worship.
The work not only focuses on the reproduction of movements and scenes, but also delves into the symbolic structures and spiritual implications contained in the rituals, revealing the deep connections among nature, individuals, groups and the cycle of life. Through the interweaving of body language and primitive symbols, “HUNTING” attempts to reconstruct a cultural dialogue between historical memory and contemporary gaze in the short film, allowing the audience to touch the original appearance of early human beliefs and spiritual expressions in the dual dimensions of the senses and thoughts.