winter solstice

AN AFI THESIS SHORT FILM

ABOUT THE PROJECT

SYSNOPSIS

In this intimate Chinese immigrant family drama, Ting, a young woman living in the U.S., helps her teenage brother prepare for an elite American high school interview by sharing a childhood drawing that once meant everything to her. But when Henry uses her private memory to shape his own success story, Ting’s growing sense of individualism clashes with the family belief that love means sharing, sacrificing, and belonging to one another.

Director & Co-Writer Marine Zhou

Marine Zhou is a Chinese filmmaker based in Los Angeles, currently pursuing her MFA in Directing at the American Film Institute Conservatory. She graduated with First-Class Honors from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, where she studied International Communications. Her short film YOYO’S SUMMER (2024) has been selected and recognized by festivals including the China-Canada International Film Festival, the Toronto Nollywood International Film Festival, and the Gyeongju Hwarang Youth Short Film Festival. Drawing from her experience growing up in China and living abroad, her work explores family, cultural identity, personal growth, and the quiet emotional complexities of everyday life.

Production Designer Caiyu Zhang

Caiyu Song is a filmmaker and production designer currently pursuing an MFA in Production Design at the American Film Institute Conservatory. Drawing from experiences across China, Canada, and the United States, she brings a multicultural perspective to visual storytelling. Her work focuses on creating immersive cinematic worlds that support character, emotion, and narrative, with particular interests in drama, thriller, horror, and fantasy. Through her training and collaborations at AFI, she has developed a strong balance between creative vision and practical execution, approaching filmmaking as both a craft and a powerful form of human connection.

MEET THE TEAM

Co-Writer Jacob Boelman

Jacob Boelman recently graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts. He produced and directed the feature documentary PAXSON: A HOME IN COMMON, which won Best Documentary at the 2024 Alexandria Film Festival. He is an accomplished writer and his most recent feature script, THE BROKEN TRILOGY, received second place in the 2024 Ivy Film Festival and was a finalist at the Catalina Film Festival. Jacob is currently pursuing his MFA in Screenwriting at the American Film Institute Conservatory. He specializes in storytelling involving family dynamics and interpersonal conflicts.

Cinematographer Molin Liu

Molin is a cinematographer working between China and the United States. He studied film production at Emerson College and later pursued graduate studies in film theory at the University of Cambridge. He is currently a Cinematography Fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory. Through cinematography, lighting, and the textures of physical spaces, he seeks to capture the emotions that characters are unable—or unwilling—to express directly. His work has been selected and/or screened at festivals including the Tokyo International Short Film Festival, the New York International Short Film Festival, the European Film Festival, USA Film Festival, LA Shorts, Indie Short Fest, San Francisco Arthouse Short Festival, Rome Prisma Film Awards, DOC NYC, and others.

Producer ?

Editor Zhilu Zeng

Zhilu Zeng is an award-winning film editor and currently an Editing Fellow at the American Film Institute (AFI). Holding a B.A. in Film Production from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, she previously honed her realistic storytelling skills editing documentaries at Guizhou Television. As an independent editor, Zhilu excels at shaping intimate, character-driven narratives through nuanced visual language. Her work has garnered significant international recognition; most notably, the short film ONE MORE CHANCE, which she edited, was named a Semi-Finalist at the prestigious Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (an Oscar-qualifying festival) and competed at the 2024 Shanghai International Short Film Week.

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WINTER SOLSTICE

2021 N Western Ave,
Los Angeles, CA 90027

ZZHOU@AFI.EDU