Piercing I

Zhang Xiaojun loses his job in a shoe factory. One day, a supermarket guard beats him up, thinking that Zhang is a thief. In vain, he asks the supermarket manager for financial redress. Zhang's dearest wish is to return to his village and become a farmer. But right before his departure, the police arrest him. The supermarket manager also has his problems. On a moonlit night, the stories converge in a teahouse near the city rampart.

Zhang Xiaojun, Supermarket Manager, Supermarket Guard, Police

Computer animation. Release date is that of screening at the Annecy Animation Film Festival. The first Chinese animated film chosen to show at five major European film festivals. Each frame was sketched out on a Wacom graphic tablet. Said director Liu Jian: "One day, I talked to my wife about the idea of making an animation film. With her permission, we sold our apartment, relied on our savings and we also got help from our relatives. The whole combination of money needed to produce the film was USD $100,000."

Asia Pacific Screen Award, Best Animated Feature Film, Lynn Wang, 2010.
Best Feature Film, ReAnimania, Yerevan, 2010.
I Castelli Animati Bellochio Prize for Social Content, Italy, 2009