Description
A magician arrives in the reclusive coal empire of Luocha, triggering widespread panic in a society already simmering beneath a fragile peace. After being arrested, he encounters an orphan named Xiao Zhi in prison. Amid a Mimeng festival of collective amnesia, the magician secretly passes a magic atlas to Xiao Zhi before being burned at the stake.
About the director:
Sun Xun
Artist. Born in 1980. In 2005, he graduated from the Printmaking Faculty of the China Academy of Art. In 2006, he founded π Animation Studio. He is currently based in Beijing. He works in many techniques: acrylic, ink, pastel, traditional animation, and various forms of printmaking, including wood engraving. Sun Xun is regarded as one of the most interesting and prolific younger artists in China and has won international recognition; his films screened at the Berlinale and in Venice. In 2023, Shanghai in the Spring won the In Silico competition at Message to Man; in 2024, Being Is Negative was shown in the same programme; in 2025, the International Competition featured his animated short Shocking Dreams in the Circus.