Despite hailing from a remote and impoverished region of China, Chinese director Bi Gan’s singular vision and bold filmmaking approach have earned him widespread critical acclaim. His debut feature, Kaili Blues (2015), a dreamlike meditation on memory and identity, earned him numerous accolades, including the Best New Director award at the Golden Horse Film Festival and the Montgolfière d’Or at the Three Continents Festival in Nantes. Bi’s subsequent films, Long Day’s Journey into Night (2018) and the recently premiered Resurrection (2025), which earned him the Special Award at the Cannes Film Festival, have further solidified his reputation as a visionary filmmaker. Characterized by their hypnotic visual style, nonlinear narratives, and exploration of themes such as loss, memory, and the human condition, Bi Gan’s films have been described as cinematic poetry, blending elements of documentary, fiction, and surrealism. Bi Gan’s unique approach to filmmaking, which often incorporates long, uninterrupted takes and experimental techniques, has drawn comparisons to the works of renowned directors like Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, and Kar-wai Wong.
