2012, Li Ruijun, 99 minutes

Li Ruijun’s third film Fly with the Crane is based on a short novel from contemporary author Su Tong. Lao Ma and Lao Cao are old carpenters living in a rural village. All their lives they built coffins together. But when the government begins to mandate cremation, work becomes scarce and their skills obsolete. Lao Cao asks Lao Ma to build him a coffin, on which Lao Ma painstakingly paints a white crane. After Lao Cao’s death, Lao Ma too wishes to “be flown by a white crane to heaven,” a wish that his young grandson aims to fulfill.

Festivals:

The 69th Venice International Film Festival, Horizons section

37th Toronto International Film Festival

17th Busan International Film Festival

46th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival

37th Hong Kong International Film Festival

Li Ruijun was born in 1983. A graduate of the Institute of Management of China National Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, his feature film Summer Solstice (2007) was selected in São Paulo International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, and the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival. It won the Jury Special Prize in the International Panorama of Independent Film and Video Makers.

His feature film The Old Donkey (2010) was selected in over 20 film festivals, including the Milan International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. It also won the Top Award in the China Independent Film Festival and won second place for the Dioraphte Award at the 40th Rotterdam International Film Festival.

Fly with the Crane is his third feature film, premiering in the 69th Venice International Film Festival, Horizons section.