About Canker

If Canker abounds in external signs of modernity, it is not only to depict a world in which obsolescence roams and is almost immediately reported, but also to offer such a moving – unadorned, fetish-free, and ultimately tender and emotional - portrayal of a young woman trapped in a flow of images; as if she were disconnected to herself, to the moment, which she cannot experience fully. She therefore connects through media, as well as to a reality that keeps coming back to her. 

Interview with Lin Tu

“The film is deeply rooted in the city of Chengdu, China, where there’s a young and vibrant urban scene. In its restlessness, I found the female character I had been trying to portray : who is starting out to be an influencer but hasn’t succeeded in influencing much, whose life is split between on and off camera, acting as her best self within the frame yet left with endless blankness when the camera turns off, whose days are fragmented and constantly interrupted by the fast-paced world around her, and who searches for meaning and purpose in her own reserved way, much like the rest of us... Meanwhile, a canker sore is a natural ramification of the local spicy Szechuan food culture. Once the metaphor emerged in my head, I knew I had found something to convey her inner struggle.

The mindset while shooting was f “embrace the randomness”. With a tiny team and crew members who were willing to experiment, the director of photography and I were able to capture emotional moments all around us. The pacing in editing, the collage-style visual presentation, the music and sound choices all followed the same idea of capturing that specific feeling of chaos and loneliness, that is both personal to the protagonist, and universal.”