The 2014 Chinese short film "Carry On" will play in the Competitive Shorts Program on November 20 and 21 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. Director Yatao Li provides a summary of the 17-minute film, which served as his thesis project for his MFA in Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology:
Carry On tells a story set in Japan-occupied China during World War II. In 1944, the tide turned against Japan and the war began winding down. Prior to their retreat, Japanese troops looted every Chinese village in their path. They took only food and women from these villages followed by massacring all others and burning everything to the ground. To save his daughter, a Chinese father in my film stuffs her into a large bag disguised as food. As he loads the bag onto the back of a truck along with other bags with food, a Japanese army officer spots his secret. But, surprisingly, moved by the Chinese father's love and courage the officer plays along and lets the daughter go.The Competitive Shorts Program plays at the Melwood Screening Room (map) on Friday, November 21 at 7:30 pm and on Saturday the 22nd at 1:30. Tickets for each are $9.
