East by Southeast: Asian Queer Shorts

River is My Hometown

Available in 06d 03h 09m 05s
Available August 31, 2025 11:00 PM UTC
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River is My Hometown reveals the perspective of a revenant through a short film. A revenant is ‘one that returns after death or a long absence.’ In response to the question “return to where?”, the poet Rilke suggests an answer in Duino Elegies (1923): “in my invisible landscape, the most beautiful, you make me more angel-known, those are invisible.” Artist River Cao points to a similar inspiration: a traditional funeral ceremony “Plead for Water” from his hometown returns him as a revenant to a homeland that transcends the geographic concept, to reconsider the emotion of grief.

  • Year
    2021
  • Runtime
    8 minutes
  • Language
    Mandarin
  • Country
    United Kingdom
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Director
    River Yuhao Cao
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