Logline
A Kazakh man who has drifted in the city returns to his long-missed hometown and, at the winter pasture, recovers the warmth he had long lost with his family.
Winter Pasture
Creative Statement
With Winter Pasture I hope to make a genre film with an auteur's point of view, a family drama with warmth. Good dramatic conflict arises naturally. As a director, I only need to show the audience the ripples the conflict sets off, that is, a wealth of textured details from life, and help them reflect on the secrets hidden beneath the simple surface. The ethnic minority characters are not there for exoticism; the idea came from the real experience of friends around me. The winter pasture is a highly symbolic metaphor. In reality it stands for a herding culture that is fading; in the film it is the spiritual home of the protagonist's people. I hope it can be the audience's as well. Unlike conventional realist films, this film weaves several surreal episodes into reality to show the characters' complex inner feelings. Its audiovisual approach is a real test for the creative team: ordinary but not dull, simple but not simplistic.
Synopsis
After graduating, Wendike stayed in the city instead of returning to his hometown, Altay. His father, a stubborn, traditional herder, has always clung to the nomadic life and refused to move to a settlement. One day his mother calls and asks him to come back and help his aging, obstinate father move the herd to the winter pasture. His father has decided this will be the last migration: in spring he will stay at the herders' settlement with Wendike's mother and sister, ending the family's nomadic life for good. Wendike has to set out for home and face a past he would rather not mention. The accidental death of his elder brother, Kuandike, has left Wendike's relationship with his father frozen, and Wendike has long carried a deep sense of guilt. His ex-girlfriend's departure has also made him reluctant to face his homeland. Back at the winter pasture, he says a final farewell to the youth and love that once troubled him. At the same time, he must prove to his doubting father that he is a true Kazakh who can move the family to the winter pasture the Kazakh way. In the bitter cold of wind and snow, what he sees is desolation and barrenness, loneliness and helplessness, yet on the slow migration Wendike and his family recover the warmth they once held most dear.
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Genre:
Drama, Family -
Director:
Song Kunru
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Screenwriter:
Song Kunru -
Producer:
Huang Wei