One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six （淼淼）
Runtime: 00:08:10
Format: Digital 16:9 (1920x1080); DCP
Language: Chinese
Subtitle: Chinese/English
Complete Time: 2025
Country: USA/China
Synopsis
In a rule bound boarding school, MiaoMiao receives a box of chocolate balls, a rare treat. As she clings to this small treasure, a mix of curiosity, doubt, and quiet rebellion begins to blur the boundaries between order and desire.
Director’s Statement
As I grew older, I continued to observe the world the same way I did as a child. I often recall how the younger me once lived and experienced her days. I became who I am because of “her.” All of my questions about myself were directed toward her, and then I began making animation, as if to pursue her through this form. And so, this film was born.
Yes, the story told in the film is from my own childhood experience. The note that read, “Whoever took my chocolate, I wish you turn into a pig.” I really wrote it. From kindergarten through university, I attended boarding school, where life was arranged and collective. We studied, ate, and slept together, like little gears keeping the school in motion. Those orderly routines blurred into vague memory, fading away. However, the moment my chocolate was stolen and I was sent to stand outside has replayed vividly in my mind countless times, like watching a dollhouse version of myself inside the school.
Why didn’t I tell the teacher when my chocolate was stolen? When punished to stand, I walked to the balcony without complaint. Under the blazing sun, I felt both dizzy and free, separated from the small group, facing the vast world alone. That is the story of the “little me.” Many things cannot be explained; they are instinctive, simple, sometimes mischievous, but mesmerizing. From a distance, she was no different from other children, but up close, she carried a sense of self, exploring boundaries in her own way.
In the disappearance of self within the collective, there inevitably comes a reawakening, even if small. Yet it was the only memory that remained. This was MiaoMiao’s unusual day at the boarding school.
Screening
CalArts Showcase 2025 at Academy Museum in California
BIJIU Festical, CalArts, California