After an incident at their high school, Wei, an outgoing only son from a middle-class family, and Shuo, his quiet, perceptive classmate, find themselves connected through some mysterious energy that draws them intimately into each other’s lives. Wei soon invites Shuo to his home and introduces his friend to his father, a cell biologist, and his mother, a former flight attendant. Learning that Shuo comes from a troubled background, Wei’s parents welcome this boy with an enigmatic charm to spend more time in their home. Slowly integrating himself into Wei’s family life, Shuo discovers that their comfortable existence is shadowed by unspoken secrets, unmet expectations, and untended emotions. A tragic incident further complicates their lives, putting past wounds and present anxieties under the microscope.
screenplay
Lin Jianjie
cinematography
Zhang Jiahao
editing
Per K. Kirkegaard
music
Toke Brorson Odin
production design
Xu Yao
cast
Zu Feng (Wei’s Father)
Guo Keyu (Wei’s Mother)
Sun Xilun (Shuo)
Lin Muran (Wei)
producers
Lou Ying
Zheng Yue
Wang Yiwen
co-producers
Zhou Ping
Rikke Tambo Anderson
production
First Light Films
co-productions
Films du Milieu
Tambo Film
world sales
Films Boutique
“Having majored in biology as an undergraduate, I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that the micro world often holds a mirror to the macro world. In this film, I examine a family both as a living cell going through changes on multiple levels, and as a cell of our evolving society, which inevitably shapes the psyche and sentiments of its people. When Wei’s family’s seemingly harmonious middle-class existence is disrupted by Wei’s mysterious friend Shuo, they see a chance to establish new homeostasis. While doing so, the undercurrent of their relationship surfaces; collective and individual needs clash; the boundaries of physical space and emotions are blurred. Even though I did not set out to make a genre film, genre found its way into my writing and filming — not as boxes to put the film in, but as a way to delve into the characters’ minds and their ambiguous relationships; to create a mysteriously seductive tone, and to invite the audience to look beyond what they see, listen beyond what they hear.” (Lin Jianjie)
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in bioinformatics, Jianjie Lin’s passion for deciphering human existence led him to filmmaking. He received his MFA degree in filmmaking from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His short films, A Visit (2015), a satire about corruption and vanity, and Gu (2017), about a family’s last reunion at court, were screened at many international film festivals. Hippopotami, his latest short, which he shot before the feature, is in post-production. Brief History of a Family is his feature film debut.
2024 Brief History of a Family
2017 Gu (short)
2015 Visit (short)
