The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost – Lei Qinyuan

Description

Synopsis of The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost

Haohao, 5, and Zhouzhou, 8, spend most of their time outside of school in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics market. A year ago, as new migrants, their parents opened a small store on the 9th floor of the market. This place, once known for making counterfeit products, is now China’s electronics production center.

The girls’ gaze transforms the soulless world of electronics into a universe of monsters and ghost stories that make life more magical. They treat the machines as part of their environment, observing the vending machines and the magical objects that will be sold all over the place, understanding the boundaries of play in a vertical dimension.

The director uses a poetic voice-over to talk about the flashbacks and re-examination of her own childhood, which was also spent in an electronics store. Shenzhen is her hometown, but she always has an urge to leave.

Information

1 hour 12 minutes | English subtitle | HD (1920×1080)
China, Germany* | 2021
Director: Lei Qinyuan
Producer: Julian Moser, Lei Qinyuan
Production Company: Moserfilm
*Production only, not location of shooting.

Awards & Film Festivals

1. Nomination for International Competition, 2021 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
2. Nomination for the DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit, 2022 DOK.fest München
3. Nomination for International Competition, 2022 Beldocs International Documentary Film Festival
4. Official Selection, 2022 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival
5. Best International Feature Documentary, 2022 Jakarta Independent Film Festival
6. Official Selection, 2022 RIDM Montreal International Documentary Festival
7. Official Selection, 2023 Mimesis Documentary Festival
8. Official Selection, 2024 Mint Chinese Film Festival

Highlight Endorsement

“The One Who Runs Away is The Ghost testifies to the infinite potential of the documentary genre.”
DMZ International Documentary Film Festival

“An atmospheric film emigration and the evasive notion of ‘home’ leaves plenty of room for interpretation.”
Chloé Raunet, Ransom Note

“The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost is a quiet and charming documentary which captures the ingenuity of active young minds.”
Rob Aldam, Backseat Mafia

Reasons for Recommendation

1. The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost has the rating of 7.2 on IMDB.
2. The director’s projection of her own experiences onto the two children living in Huaqiangbei through voice-over is a unique form of documentary filmmaking.
3. This experimental documentary is a poetic tale of homecoming, but it leaves room for more interpretations.

More Info

1. DOK.fest München Youtube Channel
THE ONE WHO RUNS AWAY IS THE GHOST | Film Talk with Qinyuan Lei & Julian Moser | DOK.fest 2022
2. Asian Movie Pulse
Documentary Review: The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost (2021) by Qinyuan Lei
3. Backseat Mafia
IDFA Review: The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost
4. easternKicks
The One Who Runs Away is the Ghost
5. Ransom Note
Film Review: The One Who Runs Away Is The Ghost
6. Business Doc Europe
IDFA Int’l Comp interview: The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost by Qinyuan Lei