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?”

All footages are original.