LABEL: QIU 2004.143
In this short video, Qiu Zhijie explores something of the relationship between death and remembrance, the physical and the spiritual. His protagonist is an old man who makes a living out of painting portraits of the dead. A traditional Chinese burial practice, these portraits, which are based on photographs of the subjects, were once considered an important stage in the journey from death to the afterlife, but in a rapidly changing cultural context, the custom is disappearing. Chants of a hopeful 'see you again' in dialect appear to apply to both the deceased and to this tradition of remembrance.
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