A bankrupt film studio lies frozen and abandoned. Zha, a lonely janitor, escapes his empty life through a vivid virtual world, where he enters an online romance and dreams of traveling to the Moon. When the illusion collapses, the studio’s real destruction is turned into the set of a sci-fi film.
Xu Zao
Born in Anshan, Liaoning Province, in 1991, he is a screenwriter, director, and production designer. He holds a master’s degree from the School of Fine Arts at the Beijing Film Academy. His animated short ‘No Changes Have Taken In Our Life’ (2023) premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and won multiple awards at domestic and international film festivals, including DOK Leipzig, Image Forum Festival, and Feinaki Beijing Animation Week. His second short ‘Love Music Friend’ (2025) competed at the Shanghai International Film Festival. ‘Light Pillar’ (2026), his debut feature, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in the Perspectives section.
