The Garden of Forking Paths

Creative Statement

The film tells three separate yet interconnected romantic love stories with magical elements, arising as a couple move through the maze of love and fate. The three stories show three different stages and aspects of love. Taken together, the particular features of each story point to what they share, opening a deeper discussion of love as a large theme. So that each story can unfold in its own mood, the colour palette, aspect ratio, cinematography, acting and editing are handled differently for each, in service of the story itself. This enriches the viewing experience and creates a distinct aesthetic style.

Synopsis

Three separate yet interconnected love stories. Reunion: one snowy winter, Shu, a former director now working as airport ground staff, meets his first love Han Dong, who has settled down in Hokkaido, again after ten years. Encounter: one scorching summer, Guan, a minor actor, and Huasheng, a girl he does not know, meet in an absurd and strange way. Parting: Shu and Guan are a couple who are together in appearance only, trying to find a way out of the maze of life and love.

Genre:

Drama, Romance, Art House

Estimated Running Time:

90 min

Director:

Jiang Boting

Lead Actor:

Tian Wanli

Lead Actress:

Wu Chu

Screenwriter:

Jiang Boting

Producer:

Ju Yao

Production Company:

Baisensen Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

Production Company:

Changchun Changying Film and Television Media Co., Ltd.

About the Director

Jiang Boting: director, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. Graduated from the Department of Cinematography at the Communication University of China and then from an MFA in filmmaking, and took part in an exchange at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Innovative audiovisual language, complete plot structure and comfortable editing rhythm characterise the work. The works have won a number of awards in China and abroad. Works: Things You Don't Know (2016, drama); Wake Up (2017, drama); You Are My Sunshine (2018, documentary).

About the Lead Actor

Tian Wanli: young actor at the Shaanxi People's Art Theatre. Representative works include the stage plays White Deer Plain and Pipa Xing; the films The Garden of Forking Paths, The Rhino Gazing Afar and Bugle Call; and the TV series I Love Bomber, Years of Galloping and The Stage.

About the Lead Actress

Wu Chu: graduated with a bachelor's degree in acting from the School of Drama, Film and Television of the Communication University of China (class of 2017).

About the Screenwriter

Jiang Boting: director, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. Graduated from the Department of Cinematography at the Communication University of China and then from an MFA in filmmaking, and took part in an exchange at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The debut short Things You Don't Know (2016) won awards at the Asian Micro Film Art Festival, the Beijing College Student Film Festival and others. The short Wake Up won the Golden Begonia Award at the Lincang Asian Micro Film Art Festival. The documentary You Are My Sunshine, shot in California, won Outstanding Documentary in the documentary category of the China College Students' TV Festival and Best Documentary at the Silk Road International Film Festival, and was selected for the St. Petersburg International Student Film Festival, among others.

About the Producer

Ju Yao: producer, executive producer and founder of the Pulanning curatorial team. Initiator of Jiula, a world exhibition of independent ethnic film art. As planner, executive producer and producer, Ju has taken part in the investment, production and distribution of a number of commercial films. Representative works include the TV series Trainee Forensic Doctor and the films The Taboo Master, Goodbye Ideals and The Taboo Master: Evil from the Heart.

About the Production Company

Baisensen Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd.: founded in 2020, a director-centred media company focused on film quality and artistic individuality.

Logline

Three separate yet interconnected romantic love stories with magical elements, arising as a couple move through the maze of love and fate.