RETROGRADE
Documentary | U.S., China | Color | 60min | Chinese | 2024 | In Production
Xiu-Qin left her her rural hometown 40 years ago, on a ship. She bears the name of all patriarchal hopes for a girl from the generation before revolution that now represents an aging China - Xiu (“秀”), “beautiful”; and Qin (“勤”), “diligent”. She resents what she represents, yet love for the family seeds from deep within.
40 years later, Xiu-Qin grows to become an average mother to a millennial, and an unconventional daughter to two sets of parents - one birthing her and another nurturing her.
Ruptures between three generations come to a halt as everyone arrives back to the rural hometown for the 100-year birthday anniversary of the late great grandmother, and RETROGRADE observes from a distance.
