Panda

A decaying riverbank in wintry, ice-cold Nanjing. In a neighbourhood of crumbling houses lives a group of wraithlike figures. They do not fit into mainstream society and are each unique in their own particular way: an impoverished poet whose verses can heal; a young man attempting to end his life by leaping into the river; a vagabond searching for a dragon so he can return to the sky; and a traumatised young woman seeking comfort from an old friend who has since become a monk. Meanwhile, a severed fingertip has been eaten by a dog; improvised music drifts from a harmonica and the Chinese string instrument, the erhu; a mobile music wagon stands by the river. Surreal, real and hyperreal at once, a world unfolds like a painting in which documentary images and fiction dissolve into one another – as absurd as it is poetic, alive with humour and brimming with humanity. The inner logic of these characters forms the heart of a radically independent spirit, shaped by resilience and a quiet, stubborn defiance. (Yun-hua Chen)

Xinyang Zhang is a film director, scriptwriter, photographer and poet. In 2019, he was awarded a full scholarship for Jia Zhangke's ‘Next Talent Project’, which led him to the Film Production Department at Vancouver Film School, Shanghai. His short film My Poem garnered the New Filmmaker Award at Beijing International Short Film Festival in 2019. As a director of photography (Aka. Young Zhang), his short films have earned awards, including a Special Mention for Best Short Film at Busan International Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

Director Xinyang Zhang. Screenplay Xinyang Zhang. Cinematography Carl Hou. Editing Xiao-Dong Guo, Xinyang Zhang, Tao Gu. Music Xiaoshu Amy Chen. Sound Design Ray Zhao. Production Design Jing Liu, Lu Ding. Costumes Meijuan Xing. Make-Up Mingyang Song. Producers Xiao-Dong Guo, Frank Yung, Yinghao Shan. Executive Producer Xianmin Zhang. Production companies Levo Films (Singapur, Singapore), Hong Kong Spark Peak Entertainment Group (Hongkong, Hong Kong, China). With Xianmin Zhang, Elvis Yang, Han Chen, Jiahe Lyu, Ruyin Zhang.

Films: 2018: My Poem (short film). 2026: Panda.