I was born and raised in Xinjiang and first left it alone at eighteen. Years of living away from home have made me rethink my relationship with my hometown. My childhood friends, my father's house and old folk songs often linger in my dreams, and I have begun trying to use the camera to write about the homesickness and predicaments of my generation.
In the depths of winter, Ivan, a young man of Russian ethnicity, returns to his hometown of Tacheng after many years away. Faced with his family's complaints and doubts, he escapes to a small town. At an old-fashioned inn there, he meets the owner, Refati, a Tatar man, and a guest, Xiaoyu. Events in Refati's early years tore his family apart, and he has lived in pain for years. Xiaoyu has learned that her father worked as a night watchman by the town's lake two years ago; she has made her way here and is working odd jobs at a local tavern. Sheltering at the inn through a blizzard, the three all seem to be looking for a way out. Where will Ivan go from here?
Genre:
Drama, FamilyDirector/Screenwriter:
Lu DanProducer:
Wang Lei | Qin Haonan | CaiduoProduction Company:
Shenzhen Niubizi Pictures Co., Ltd. | Xinjiang City of Time Culture Media Co., Ltd.Executive Producer:
Pema TsedenLu Dan: Born in Urumqi, Xinjiang, a woman director and screenwriter. She graduated from the Communication University of China in 2015; her graduation short Peacock Butterfly, which she shot and directed independently, won awards at several festivals in China. The Winter Traveler, completed in 2022, is her first feature as director.
Wang Lei: Producer, poet and projectionist; founder of Beijing Ciyu Screenings and of the Shenzhen "Juzhong Ruoqing" film exhibition; second-round selection juror for the documentary section of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Selected works: Balloon, Damp Season, Art Is Dead, A Funeral for One, The Last Farewell, One and Four and others. Qin Haonan: Of Daur ethnicity, born in Tacheng, Xinjiang; graduated from the PLA Nanjing Political College. Selected work: The Winter Traveler. Caiduo: Producer and cinematographer. Selected works: Tharlo and A Funeral for One.
Shenzhen Niubizi Pictures Co., Ltd.: Founded in 2020. Its main works include One and Four, Snow Leopard and The Winter Traveler.
Ivan, a young man of Russian ethnicity, left Xinjiang as a teenager to seek his fortune, but returns down and out at thirty. Faced with his family's complaints and doubts, he goes alone to a small town. At an old inn, Ivan unexpectedly meets a reclusive old Tatar man and a girl from elsewhere.