花落知多少·rooms of her own
documentary, 10min, canada/china, 2026
[premiering soon]
producer, director, writer, cinematographer, editor.
[synopsis]
After living abroad for over a decade, a queer filmmaker returns to their childhood home in China, just as their mother prepares to retire.
The trip quickly unfolds into unexpected witnessing, as the 55-year-old woman—wife, mother, daughter—slowly peels away from a lifetime of patriarchal expectations imposed on her by her father, husband, and every other man in her life.
This film documents a short two-week visit to the family home in the season of sweet osmanthus blooms, intertwined with archival materials found around the house, before the big renovation wipes away any proof of existence.
[credits]
directed, written, filmed, and edited by Yi Shi.
featuring Ji.
sound mixing and original music by D Badua.
This project is made possible with funding from the Re:Focus Fund through Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Its concept was conceived during Clare Samuel's "Database, Archive, Virtual Experience" course in the Documentary Media MFA program at TMU.
[festival selections]
coming soon.
