Father
Deng Wei
Release year: 2022
Run time: 96 mins
Film type: Documentary
Synopsis
Director biography
Director's statement
Life is a spontaneous chance. From the moment each and every one of us is born into this world, we create a blood bond with others as family and relatives. This film a true story of my grandfather Zuogui, and father Donggu. Donggu is a real estate "boss" who spends most of his life building houses for other people. But against Zuogui's protest, he demolishes the old house in which Zuogui spends his life living, causing a rift between them. Zuogui is a blind man and works as a fortune-teller. He knows his predetermined fate but keeps fighting it all his life. Also knowing the fate of his son Donggu, Zuogui puts aside the past and, out of love, tries to persuade Donggu to stop his project. One side is this determined disaster, the other side is the reality of cruel reality, Donggu and Zuogui struggle between the course of China's modernization and social transformation, pondering on their life direction. When I grow up, my father grows old and my grandfather says it’s his time to go. Thankfully, I am able to record this last part of my grandfather's life, as well as images and voices of his and my father's generation on affection, love, dignity, loneliness, hometown, life, and death. When I create an emotional bond between them, I get a deeper comprehension of life. Life has its course and an end, yet the everlasting, hidden emotions are proof that we have ever been alive. They are a source of power, keeping us from fearing death.