Browse films

Dawning

Wei Xiong
China, 2018, 100 min.

In Chinese with English subtitles.
This film is family friendly.

A heart-wrenching story of a child searching for asylum in China in 1941 after an attack by Japan leaves his city in ruins. Jun’s dying mother tells him to go to a familiar sanctuary to wait for his father to come for him, but soon, the teachers and children there begin dying from an epidemic. Somehow, Jun must find the courage and determination to persevere.

Director's Statement

The film intends to show not only an isolated individual or an isolated era, but rather a bigger and majestic picture. The pains and partings of life and death suffered by the teenager Jun are so immeasurable that they could not be explained solely on an individual basis, so does resilience and optimism that he upholds. Jun is depicted as an orphan bereft by war and the miniature of the whole nation. He is both specific and sublime.

Category: Drama.
Themes: War, World Cinema, Youth.

More in Drama

  • Over Again

    Over Again

    Jeffrey Scott Brack
    United States, 2025, 15 min.

    As sparks fly between a singer-songwriter and a smitten spectator at a live music club, it seems they are destined for a future together..... more ›

  • Play Pretend

    Play Pretend

    Jordan Fouts
    United States, 2025, 9 min.

    A down on her luck party princess is given one more chance to keep her job after a gig goes horribly wrong... more ›

  • Radio Sky

    Radio Sky

    Carlitos Do Souto
    United States, 2026, 91 min.

    As Mac chews on a chicken leg in his rundown one-bedroom, with ankle monitors on his legs, breaking news erupts from the television that NASA has lost contact... more ›