The 31st Busan International Film Festival is set to spotlight a striking new voice in cinema, as Jianying (Story) Chen brings her feature-length debut to the event’s Vision competition section — a project backed by a New York-based cultural group with ties to one of China’s most promising young directors.
Still of There Will Be Snow
Director Jianying (Story) Chen at the premiere
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — There Will Be Snow, written and directed by Jianying (Story) Chen, has been selected for the Vision competition section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival. This feature directorial debut of Chen stars Tian’ai Zhao, with Xiao Chen in a special starring role, alongside cast members Junting Wu, Sha Bai and Yueling Shi. An Nai serves as executive producer, with Xiaoyuan Li as producer. Jingzhu Yang, CEO of AmeriChina Group, joins the project as co-producer and, having invested in the film, will continue to support its promotion and distribution.
The production was filmed entirely on location in Harbin, where the visual tone is shaped by snow-blanketed streets and a cityscape in continuous transformation. For Chen, Harbin is the city where she grew up. Returning there to make her first feature, she turned the real-life locations of her hometown into the fictional “Glaceterre” of 2035, lending the story of home, memory and departure a deeply personal resonance.
“There Will Be Snow is a film about memory, choice and the confirmation of self,” Chen has said of the project. As artificial intelligence and urban systems continue to advance, making life increasingly efficient and seamless, the authentic and unhurried emotions that connect people are coming under renewed scrutiny. Through protagonist Chen Gu’s re-confrontation with her hometown, her body and inner self, the film explores how people in a future world might affirm their existence and preserve emotional warmth.
The film marks an important step in Chen’s transition from short films to feature filmmaking. In 2022, her short The Water Murmurs won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. From the themes of city, memory and parting in that earlier work to this return to her hometown for her first feature, her work continues to place its characters within changing environments, attending to how individuals come to recognize their feelings and make choices anew.
There Will Be Snow will have four public screenings during the 31st Busan International Film Festival.
The AmeriChina Foundation was established in New York in 2025. Its founder, Jingzhu Yang, has stated that the foundation will continue to support the artistic work and exploration of international young filmmakers such as Jianying (Story) Chen.
Simon Shi
AmeriChina Group
Why it matters: The selection of Chen’s debut at a major Asian festival — following her Cannes-winning short — signals growing international attention on a director whose work grapples with the emotional costs of technological progress. With AmeriChina’s backing extending into distribution, the film’s festival run could open doors for wider release and elevate conversations about how future societies preserve human connection.
