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

  • Trumpet Gumbo

    Trumpet Gumbo

    Brad Courtemanche
    United States, 2025, 14 min.

    Brandon Scales in Trumpet Gumbo Hot off of a win of the country's largest television cooking show, Chef Buddy Bontemps finds himself under the tutelage of one... more ›

  • Ciao Bella

    Ciao Bella

    Mathilde Norholt
    Denmark, 2025, 11 min.

    On the morning of her 15th birthday, Bella tries to hide the evidence of her nightly adventures and new found womanhood for her protective father... more ›

  • Pierre West

    Pierre West

    Henrik Larsson
    Sweden, 2024, 29 min.

    Hope, Longing & Darkness, spanning 17 years. Through Pierre’s isolated life and his unjust struggle with trauma, the film explores the emotions that... more ›