Flowers of the Enemy
Experimental Film
December 2024
Flowers of the Enemy is set in Nanjing, my hometown, marked by the trauma of the Nanjing Massacre during WWII at the hands of the Japanese military. Despite these scars, Nanjing is known for its beautiful cherry blossoms— in fact, these trees were gifted by the Japanese city of Nagoya in the 1980s to establish a gesture of friendship and city sisterhood. Yet, I came across an internet discourse that questions: “Why are we still nurturing the flowers of the enemy?”
This project explores the complexity of collective memory and inherited trauma, reflecting on the ambiguity of symbols, reconciliation, and the coexistence of historical suffering with present renewal. All footages are original.
The current video is a draft work in progress as of December 16, 2024; next steps include 1) refining typography; 2) incorporating more diverse aspect ratios; 3) staging additional footage to expand the narrative; 4) exploring more on sound.
This project explores the complexity of collective memory and inherited trauma, reflecting on the ambiguity of symbols, reconciliation, and the coexistence of historical suffering with present renewal. All footages are original.
The current video is a draft work in progress as of December 16, 2024; next steps include 1) refining typography; 2) incorporating more diverse aspect ratios; 3) staging additional footage to expand the narrative; 4) exploring more on sound.
︎︎︎ Role: filmmaker, writer, performer, narrator, editor, designer
Script:
How can it look so different?
A land once drenched in blood now cradles seas of cherry blossoms,
their trunks standing on what once unimaginable,
in the wind their branches gently shake.
Do these flowers betray the soil,
or do they honor it by showing what it can still sustain?
How can it sound so different?
A land once filled with the cacophony of despair,
now hums with laughter and chatter.
Motorcycle beep in impatience, cameras click,
And tourists marvel as the flower petals fall.
Am I an unfilial child by smiling as I watch people laugh,
or standing beneath the flowers’ shade?
How can it feel so different?
The breeze brushes my skin, the same wind that once bore cries of shame
Can joy belong in a place where memory still aches?
Flowers of the enemy sway gently as if they’re calling me
They do not carry answers,
But quietly
The earth beneath my feet is the still same.
How can it look so different?
A land once drenched in blood now cradles seas of cherry blossoms,
their trunks standing on what once unimaginable,
in the wind their branches gently shake.
Do these flowers betray the soil,
or do they honor it by showing what it can still sustain?
How can it sound so different?
A land once filled with the cacophony of despair,
now hums with laughter and chatter.
Motorcycle beep in impatience, cameras click,
And tourists marvel as the flower petals fall.
Am I an unfilial child by smiling as I watch people laugh,
or standing beneath the flowers’ shade?
How can it feel so different?
The breeze brushes my skin, the same wind that once bore cries of shame
Can joy belong in a place where memory still aches?
Flowers of the enemy sway gently as if they’re calling me
They do not carry answers,
But quietly
The earth beneath my feet is the still same.
Selected film stills.
