In March 2002, a state TV station in China was hijacked by members of outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal was to counter the government narrative about their practice. In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner, is forced to flee.
He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening a violent repression. But his views are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, now living in Seoul, South Korea. Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, ETERNAL SPRING retraces the event on its 20th anniversary and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.
“An inspired mixed-media reflection.”— GUY LODGE, THE GUARDIAN
“Extraordinary…the animation is some of the very best we have ever seen in documentary film.”— GRAND JURY DOCUMENTARY AWARD, MOVIES THAT MATTER
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- Year2022
- Runtime86 minutes
- LanguageChinese
- CountryChina, Canada
- DirectorJason Loftus
- ScreenwriterJason Loftus, Masha Loftus, The Pearman Brothers
- ProducerKevin Kookogey, Jason Loftus, Yvan Pinard
- CastDaxiong, Jin Xuezhe, Lan Lihua
- CinematographerJohn Tran
- EditorDavid Schmidt
In March 2002, a state TV station in China was hijacked by members of outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal was to counter the government narrative about their practice. In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner, is forced to flee.
He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening a violent repression. But his views are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, now living in Seoul, South Korea. Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, ETERNAL SPRING retraces the event on its 20th anniversary and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.
“An inspired mixed-media reflection.”— GUY LODGE, THE GUARDIAN
“Extraordinary…the animation is some of the very best we have ever seen in documentary film.”— GRAND JURY DOCUMENTARY AWARD, MOVIES THAT MATTER
.
- Year2022
- Runtime86 minutes
- LanguageChinese
- CountryChina, Canada
- DirectorJason Loftus
- ScreenwriterJason Loftus, Masha Loftus, The Pearman Brothers
- ProducerKevin Kookogey, Jason Loftus, Yvan Pinard
- CastDaxiong, Jin Xuezhe, Lan Lihua
- CinematographerJohn Tran
- EditorDavid Schmidt