Filmmaker Statement

Soaked In addresses the abortion issue which severely affects the current proportion of young men and women in China. Right now in the marriageable population, there is approximately 1 woman versus 3.5 men. Looking back on my sand animation shots, the dark and vague atmosphere of sand reminds me of a baby’s view when it’s inside a womb. Her imagining herself in a cozy bath and the fact that she is being aborted and taken away all the opportunities she has, even taking a shower, is very dramatic and sad. I struggled during the filmmaking process because of the Shanghai lockdown. I was so anxious and disappointed about the situation. So to some extent, I am expressing some of my emotions in this despairing state of anxiety, and I can clearly feel that I have brought this emotion into the presentation of this work. It was kinda a relief when I finished the film in October 2022. This marks closure to a period of time that I was stuck in my dorm wasting time staring at a screen.