May the Soil Be Everywhere (2025)

In her directorial debut, Yehui Zhao journeys to her family's ancestral village in the Loess Plateau mountains to explore her grandmother's life and uncover the story of her great-grandfather. The film highlights the agricultural traditions and cave dwellings of generations past. Zhao celebrates her family's deep connection to the land, illustrating the hard work and strength of her ancestors who persevered through war, famine, and urbanization. "May the Soil Be Everywhere" blends performance, poetry, and animation to vividly portray the past. Combining community theater and oral history, the film creates a living record of her family's story and the experiences of rural Chinese families throughout the 20th century.