LIVING THE LAND
by Huo Meng
People’s Republic of China, 2025, 132'
As China transforms, a family is caught between the weight of tradition and the pull of progress
In 1991, as China undergoes sweeping socio-economic changes that drive many to leave their rural villages in pursuit of work in the cities, 10-year-old Chuang, the third child of his family, must remain in the village due to family plans. Against the backdrop of modernization, as the advent of technology reshapes their traditional way of life, cycles of births, deaths, marriages, and funerals reveal the enduring weight of tradition and the pressures of balancing familial responsibilities with a rapidly changing world.
Reviews
"Living the Land” is never dull, thanks to a wealth of incident and the complexity of relationships in Huo’s extended family portrait"
"immersive and ambitious"
"deeply poignant"
"From its very first scene (...) we know we’re in the hands of a skillful filmmaker."
"Huo concludes with a suitably epic frame that, like the film, is both familial and effortlessly historical in scope."
"Living the Land (Sheng xi zhi di) can rightly lay claim to being a Chinese landmark of unhurried intimacy"
"We fall in love with his characters as a clan, as a family, and as a village"
“narrativized with poignancy and emotionality”
Awards
Silver Bear (Best Director) - Berlin IFF 2025
Festivals
World Premiere: Berlin IFF 2025 - Competition
Cast & Crew
With: Wang Shang (Chuang); Zhang Yanrong (Great Grannie); Zhang Chuwen (Xiuying)
Production companies: Shanghai Film Group | Phoenix Legend Films Co.,Ltd. | Floating Light (Foshan) Film and Culture Co.,Ltd. | Bad Rabbit (Shanghai) Pictures Co.,Ltd. | Lianray Pictures
Producer: Zhang Fan
Executive producers: Xu Chunping, Yao Chen
Presented by: Wang Jun, Jiang Hao, Yao Chen, Cai Yuan
Coproducers: Zhu Xi, Zhai Miaomiao, Liu Yi, Li Xinran
Associate Producers: Cao Yu, Zeng Jiyuan, Wang Hongwei, He Xiaoqing
Huo Meng
HUO Meng was born in Taikang, Henan Province, China in 1984. He first studied law at the Communication University of China before embarking on a master’s degree in cinema at the same institution. In 2018, he made his first fiction feature “CROSSING THE BORDER - ZHAOGUAN”, which won the Pingyao International Film Festival Fei Mu Award for Best Director, the Fajr International Film Festival Best Asian Director award, and a Best Director nomination at the Golden Rooster Film Festival. Selected by director Jia Zhangke, “CROSSING THE BORDER - ZHAOGUAN” was screened at the 70th Berlinale as part of the “On Transmission” special program.
Selected filmography:
“CROSSING THE BORDER - ZHAOGUAN” - (Guo Zhao Guan, 2018, 93mins)
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