Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源
Title: Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源
Type: Documentary
Length: 50 minutes
Studio Name: Tianyou Studio 天佑电影制片厂
Synopsis:
The film documents the everyday life of a university student and her family during the Wuhan lockdown in 2020. Through her eyes, we see how her family pulls together to find happiness even in the darkest hour, which in turn reflects the struggle for survival of a city in face of an unprecedented pandemic. Wang Yi is a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Having returned to Wuhan during the winter break, she finds herself stranded in her hometown for much longer than expected. As the Spring term begins in early February, she is obliged to adapt to online learning while yearning to return to her campus in Hong Kong. Life in lockdown is dull and tedious, but stronger ties are forged between kins and neighbors. In the film, we are introduced to her mother, who puts her green fingers to the test, her father, who tries ways and means to put food on the table, and her sister, who is expecting a baby amidst the hardship and turmoil. We also see snippets of a city on standstill when Wang Yi takes occasional strolls in her neighborhood.
Eventually, Wang Yi returned to Hong Kong to continue her studies in June. Everything seems to be back on the right track. However, her family experienced unexpected upheavals, and the family bonding and happiness during the lockdown can never be retrieved, just like the Peach Blossom Spring that is forever lost. Looking back at the days stranded in Wuhan, Wang Yi reflects that despite the suffering and distress, the lockdown is ironically the best time for her family and the city of Wuhan, a true Peach Blossom Spring suspended in time and space, which can never be reproduced in history, on both personal and collective levels.
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Student films reflect only their authors’ own opinions and are not endorsed by the course instructor and the university.