The Breaking Ice
In cold wintry Yanji, a city on China’s northern border, young urbanite Haofeng, visiting from Shanghai, feels lost and adrift. By chance, he goes on a tour led by Nana, a charming tour guide who instantly fascinates him. She introduces him to Xiao, a personable but frustrated restaurant worker. The three bond quickly over a drunken weekend. Confronting their individual traumas, their frozen desires slowly thaw as they seek to liberate themselves from an icy world.
Cast
- Nana
- Dongyu Zhou
- Haofeng
- Haoran Liu
- Han Xiao
- Chuxiao Qu
The Breaking Ice
Anthony Chen
- Fiction
- Production Country / Year
- China, Singapore 2023
- Language
- zh., ko., en. OF mit en. UT
- Format
- DCP, Color, 99min
Other, Discrete 5.1
- Original Title
- Ran dong
Director & Crew
Anthony Chen
Born in 1984 in Singapore. Studied at the Film Academy Singapore and at the National Film and Television School in London. Active as a writer, director and producer.
Filmography
2013 ILO ILO, Spielfilm
2019 WET SEASON, Spielfilm HOF 2019
2021 THE YEAR OF THE EVERLASTING STORM, Spielfilm
2023 DRIFT, Spielfilm HOF 2023
RAN DONG, Spielfilm HOF 2023
“THE BREAKING ICE was born out of impulse and spontaneity. I was desperate to make a film after two years of being cooped up at home during the pandemic, during which time I had a huge existential crisis. And when certain projects got delayed, I was determined to do something. I was searching for a sense of identity, to ‘exist’ as a filmmaker.
Looking to liberate myself from my old ways and to challenge myself outside my comfort zone, I forced myself to make a film in an unfamiliar country, terrain, and climate. I wanted to capture the spirit of the current generation of young Chinese whom I had read so much about.
The end result is, I hope, as freeing as the process of making it. This is a film I made in the shortest time ever, from conception to completion. And the craziest endeavor I ever embarked on. It was a leap of faith for all of us. A wild adventure in a cold, icy winter. And for me, a love letter to the young people of China.”
Anthony Chen
- Director of Photography
- Jingping Yu
- Editor
- Hoping Chen
- Mun Thye Soo
- Production Designer
- Luxi Du
- Costume Designer
- Hua Li
- Sound Designer
- Zhe Wu
- Music Composer
- Kin Leonn
- Producer
- Meng Xie