Director: Gu Qihao

Synopsis

The film follows Xiao Wu, who returns to the village to live with his grandmother. She often goes missing, and each time he has to spend time looking for her, until one day he discovers her secret. The film looks at the problem of elderly people who wander and get lost. As young and middle-aged people leave areas with outward migration, especially rural areas, older people are left without care and support, and the separation of generations means a lack of emotional support and daily care. Rural community elder-care facilities are inadequate and social organizations are rarely involved, which further deepens the social isolation of elderly people left behind. Mental health problems are especially serious: loneliness, anxiety and depression are common among them but often overlooked. In recent years, civil affairs departments in many local governments have issued notices on setting up care mechanisms to keep elderly people with dementia from getting lost, using location wristbands and GPS trackers, in the hope of drawing on the whole of society to protect elderly people at risk of wandering and help those with dementia or mental illness who have gone missing get home.