An Elephant Sitting Still (Da xiang xi di er zuo)
Bo Hu
15
234 mins
2018
China
Mandarin
Zhang Yu, Peng Yuchang, Wang Yuwen, Liu Congxi
Director of Photography: Fan Chao
Editor: Hu Bo
Music: Hua Lun
Screenplay by: Hu Bo
Production Designer: Xie Lijia
Sound Production: Ren Yiming, Bai Ruizhou
Director Bio
Bo Hu
Director Bio
Hu Bo (1988–2017) was a Chinese writer and director. His short film Distant Father (2014) won Best Director at Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival and Night Runner (2014) was selected by Taipei Golden Horse Film Academy. His debut feature, An Elephant Sitting Still, was selected by the FIRST International Film Festival Financing Forum. He is the author of two novels, Huge Crack and Bullfrog.
In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, their stories told in visual compositions set over one day, from dawn till dusk, when the train to Manzhouli is set to leave. Though a series of mismatched characters, all dream of escape from their downward spiral. The debut film of famed Chinese novelist Hu Bo, who died by suicide in October 2017 aged just 29.