HOLLOWED

"In January 2022, the “chained woman” incident erupted on Chinese social media. A video of a mentally disturbed woman chained to the wall of a rural house went viral. The horrifying case of human trafficking was quickly silenced, and she became yet another woman who faded into the forgotten corners of social media. This tragic event planted the seed for Hollowed, a story about a young woman who visits her fiancé’s rural hometown for the first time, uncovering the mystery and truth about her mother-in-law.

The narrative took further shape when I returned to my grandmother's hometown for her burial — a rural village of 6,000 people. The village struck me with its emptiness; the streets were eerily silent, with only the elderly remaining. Younger generations have migrated to the town center or sought work in cities, a consequence of China's expansive urbanization efforts. As my mother recounted the once-vibrant village life in the courtyard of her childhood home — now abandoned and in disrepair — the idea of intertwining memories with the present began to take form.

In a story that excavates the secrets of the past, myth and storytelling play pivotal roles. It may feel like a dream — but sometimes, it’s only in dreams that we are free to see the truth."