At just twenty-three years old, Liu Jiayin made a striking debut with her film Oxhide (2005), and four years later, she returned with the sequel, Oxhide II (2009). Both works center around Liu and her parents and are set against the intimate backdrop of their home. While Oxhide II retains the original's innovative blend of close shots, a widescreen aspect ratio, and offscreen space and sound, the sequel takes the minimalist aesthetic of static shots and long takes to new extremes.

Oxhide II comprises just nine static shots lasting from five to twenty minutes each. The camera revolves in forty-five-degree intervals clockwise around a leather workbench. The sequences capture the family’s process of making and enjoying dumplings, offering a seemingly mundane premise that unfolds with unexpected richness and humor. Liu’s dialogue and interactions are imbued with a naturalism that reveals the distinct personalities of the characters, and their subtle connections and underlying tensions. Ultimately, Oxhide II demonstrates how space can be manipulated within static long takes and the image can be ingeniously recomposed in real time.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with writer-director Liu Jiayin via video call, moderated by M+ Curator-at-Large of Hong Kong Film and Media, Li Cheuk-to. The discussion will take place in Mandarin.

Liu Jiayin (b. 1981, Beijing) is a Chinese independent filmmaker and educator. Her first feature, Oxhide (2005), won numerous awards at film festivals worldwide, including Berlin, Hong Kong, Jeonju, and Vancouver. Its sequel, Oxhide II (2009), premiered at the Directors Fortnight of Cannes Film Festival. Liu’s latest work, All Ears (2023), won the Best Director Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Liu currently teaches screenwriting at the Beijing Film Academy.