The film was shot in Urumqi in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak. Like most people in China, I was required to home quarantine for almost 40 days. It’s probably the first time in my life that I did not go out for such a long time. The daily information overload led to extreme anxiety and eventually a state of weariness, something I had never experienced before. From writing the script, I regained energy and hope. Under different limiting circumstances, I took a minimalist approach in making the film.

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The opinion that Nurshad holds is actually shared by many of my honest and courageous Uyghur brothers; it’s indeed absurd and arrogant. I think that when a real disaster comes, such unscientific ideas will either make them pay dearly, or allow them to escape it. However, it’s worthy of consideration, whether we should tolerate their absurd views or simply determine a certain “rightness” that they should live by.