All Ears - CinemAsia

Wen Shan is an average screenwriter who has decided to put his pen to better use. Instead of writing scripts, he writes eulogies for a living. He meets the families of the deceased and listens patiently to their stories. Some of the people he meets are in mourning; others cannot care less. Through their memories and recollections, Wen Shan pieces together the lives of ordinary people and comes to a deeper understanding of life.

Director Liu Jiayin, whose award-winning documentaries Oxhide (2005) and Oxhide II (2009) were lauded as groundbreaking works in Chinese independent cinema, returns to filmmaking after a decade. Through gentle cinematography and bittersweet storytelling, as well as a subtle performance by Chinese star Hu Ge, Liu crafts a humble reflection on mortality that flows between the humorous and the contemplative. All Ears reminds us that it is not fame and fortune that make a life, but the people we touch and the memories we leave behind.