China's first AI-themed film, My Father's Son, is set for release tomorrow (December 6). The film was the only sci-fi entry featured in the "Most Anticipated Young Directors' Works" Recommendation Gala at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF). Director Qiu Sheng previously won the "Outstanding Project" award at the Beijing Film Market Project Pitches of the 7th BJIFF for his work Suburban Birds. Now, drawing on over two decades of creative experience, he has crafted a cross-temporal dialogue with his father. At the Recommendation Gala, the creative team noted that this Chinese-style sci-fi film deviates from traditional Western grand narratives, instead approaching the story from a uniquely Chinese humanistic perspective, delivering a poetic charm infused with Oriental romanticism. In addition to director Qiu Sheng, the film, with Wang Hongwei and Yang Xianghua as executive producers, Li Lingyan as the general producer, and Li Wei, Li Tingwei, and Song Jia as the chief planner, is featured by actors Song Yang, Sun Ning, Sun Anke, and Tong Chenjie.

In the film, the protagonist Zou Qiao (played by Sun Ning) struggles to come to terms with the sudden loss of his father. Unspoken concerns and unresolved regrets have left a festering wound in his heart. Yet, AI technology opens a door for this persistent longing - using technology as the key, he intertwines memories with data, allowing his father to return to him in a digital form.

This is not a chilling tale of human-machine conflict, nor a fantastical sci-fi spectacle. Instead, it is a tender exploration of "farewell" and "reunion". When longing takes tangible form, and "reunion" is realized through technology, can our bonds with departed loved ones transcend the boundary between life and death? The film's most profound emotional core lies in its belief that "unspoken love will eventually be heard again in the echoes of time and technology" - giving voice to the regrets and yearnings for family connections buried deep in many hearts.

In this film, director Qiu Sheng continues his distinct personal narrative style infused with Oriental lyricism. Through an interwoven temporal structure and restrained emotional expression, he constructs the aesthetic essence of a "cyber elegy". The film is produced by Hangzhou Guodong Xiaoying Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd., Chongqing Mi Xiaomi Cultural Media Co., Ltd., CG CINEMA, and Hangzhou 1905 Culture Media Co., Ltd., with co-production by iQiyi Pictures (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Xiangshan Yizhuo Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd., Beijing Weisheng Media Co., Ltd., Beijing Qinyong Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd., and Beijing Fenghua Times Culture Co., Ltd.

When AI comprehends longing, and reunion becomes reality, this encounter transcending life and death will ultimately make us understand: true farewell is never about oblivion, and the deepest love always finds its way to reach one another. All unfinished dialogues will eventually find their echoing shores. The film will warmly arrive in theaters on December 6 - stay tuned.