Re tian wu hou

Remains of the Hot Day
China at the end of the 1990s, lunch in an extended family. The father works in distant Shenzhen and is rarely home. The grandmother cooks and keeps an eye on the children. The air is filled with levity, longing, worries and exhaustion. Memories of a bygone era, told from the perspective of the six-year-old daughter.
by Wenqian Zhang
with Yuyi Wan, Jinkui Jiang, Yi Shi, Yiwen Gu, Zhengye Chen, Juliette Wu, Zimeng Li, Xiaoqing Zhao
People’s Republic of China 2024 Mandarin, Wu 24’ World premiere

With

  • Yuyi Wan (Little Girl)
  • Jinkui Jiang (Grandpa)
  • Yi Shi (Grandma)
  • Yiwen Gu (Mom)
  • Zhengye Chen (Uncle)
  • Juliette Wu (Aunt)
  • Zimeng Li (Baby Girl)
  • Xiaoqing Zhao (Visiting Man)

Crew

Director Wenqian Zhang
Screenplay Yue Huang, Wenqian Zhang
Cinematography Yunlai Dai
Editing Yue Huang
Sound Design Wenqian Zhang
Sound Hao Chen
Production Design Nuanqi Chen, Qing Yang
Gaffers Zilong Lin, Haoyang Zhang
Camera Assistants Hexiang Song, Yuxiao Zhang
Line Producer Jia Deng
Production Manager Yuan Yuan
Producer Yue Huang

Produced by

Trembling Flame Films

Wenqian Zhang

The Chinese director was born in 1992 and earned her MFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. After completing her studies, she returned to China and founded the Trembling Flame Films production company with her partner Yue Huang. In 2021, she produced Yue’s short film The Executioner, which premiered at Clermont-Ferrand. Her documentary debut A Long Journey Home premiered at Visions du Réel in 2022 where it won the Jury Prize in the Burning Lights competition. The film went on to be invited to several other festivals, including MoMA’s Doc Fortnight in 2023.

Filmography

2019 A Letter from Huami; short film 2022 Wu Kou Zhi Jia (A Long Journey Home) 2024 Re tian wu hou (Remains of the Hot Day); short film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024