LAI LIE
Genre
Drama
Running time
6 minutes
Year
2023
Language
Chinese
Subtitle
English and Arabic
Country
China
Director
Cui Binglin
Bio
Producer
Qi Ruyi
Cast
Li Ke, Huang Hai
Scriptwriter
Cui Binglin
A bicycle bounces over a rough road in winter gloom, carrying a young father, Huang, and his child to the primary school in the village. The guard Li greets them “Lai Lie” and Huang watches with pleasure as children chase each other around the yard. Twenty Years later, Huang returns, but the school is now a nursing home; Li is still there, greeting them the same way, but this, just like the world they live in, the nuance of the greeting has changed.
Other movies
LOST LAND
Director: Akio Fujimoto
In this quietly powerful, first-ever Rohingya-language feature, Japanese filmmaker Akio Fujimoto offers a haunting, intimate portrait of two siblings fleeing persecution in Myanmar. With nothing but vague directions and each other, nine-year-old Somira and her younger brother Shafi begin a harrowing journey to join an uncle in Malaysia, crossing borders by sea and land and navigating a world shaped by smugglers, fear and exploitation. With a cast of non-professional actors, most of whom lived refugee experiences, the film blends realism with lyrical restraint. Eschewing melodrama for quiet observation, Fujimoto captures the disorientation of displacement and the uncertainty of fragile hopes. Lost Land is a timely, deeply human reflection on survival, resilience and the Rohingya’s eternal search for a place to call home.
KWIBUKA, REMEMBER
Director: Jonas D'adesky
In Kwibuka, Remember, Jonas D’Adesky tells the story of Lia, a Belgian-Rwandan basketball player facing the twilight of her career. Twenty years after fleeing the genocide, she is asked to join the Rwandan national basketball team. This journey stirs buried memories of a painful past: exile, family silences and the pain of a fractured identity. Through her eyes, the film explores confrontation between memory and the present, and a nation scarred by tragedy with a contemporary Rwanda brimming with life and creativity. The strength of Kwibuka, Remember lies in the delicate handling of generational trauma while highlighting collective hope. Balancing intimacy and history, the film transcends personal drama to deliver a universal story of resilience.
THE SETTLEMENT
Director: Mohamed Rashad
When 23-year-old Hossam's father dies in a factory accident, management of the factory offer a deal: a job for Hossam and his younger brother, 12-year-old Maro, in exchange for burying the truth. With a criminal record and a disabled mother to support, Hossam has little choice but to accept the job, even as his brother insists on working beside him. Hossam is pulled in multiple directions — between the truth of his father's death, a first love affair with a disappearing coworker and his community's dark reputation. This thriller has an intriguing atmosphere, and to emphasize the characters' oppression, director Mohamed Rashad uses sound — especially the overwhelming noise of the factory machines — to immerse the audience in a corrupt world.