Chinese filmmaker Liu Shuheng reveals inspiration behind Astana AI Film Festival entry
Chinese filmmaker Liu Shuheng, winner of the Best Story award at the Astana AI Film Festival for The Last Span, has revealed that his film was inspired by an ancient Chinese painting and explores the themes of separation and reconnection, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Liu, who represents China-based 2xLab, said the concept emerged almost accidentally during a conversation with friends.
“Our story actually comes from an ancient Chinese painting. When we first talked about the painting with some good friends, the topic came up quite unexpectedly. We were discussing separation and reconnecting, and we found the idea very interesting. So we thought we could use it as the background for developing the story,” he said.
According to Liu, the team used Seedance 2.5 as well as several exclusive tools while working on the film.The filmmaker also revealed that the Astana AI Film Festival marked his first visit to Kazakhstan.
“This is my first time here,” Liu said.
Sharing his impressions of the country, he described Kazakhstan as “very beautiful,” highlighting the architecture he had seen during his stay.
“Kazakhstan is very beautiful because there are many beautiful buildings here,” he said.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Latvian filmmaker Nikolay Shestak won the Grand Prix at the Astana AI Film Festival.