THE SUN SETS AND
ONCE AGAIN
THE EARTH
IS UPRIGHT
A story of grieving and hoping in slow time,
emphasising the connection to land and all it sustains
2023 | Drama | 30 mins
synopsis
In The Sun Sets and Once Again the Earth is Upright, writer and filmmaker Chi Tran offers a tender story of grief, hope, and connection and depicts the deep relationship between flowing time and land.
This short film tells us the story of 39-year-old Meilani who spends her days by the river, grieving the loss of her mother. Over the course of three days, she crosses paths with two strangers, whose words and spirits accompany her on a journey.
screening and exhibition
The Sun Sets and Once Again the Earth is Upright screened as a part of Now You’re Speakin’ My Language, a digital exhibition co-presented by the Institute of Modern Art (Brisbane) and NOWNESS ASIA and curated by Kate ten Buuren. Through explorations of memory, time, grief, migration, intergenerational knowledges, and more, the experimental moving image makers featured in the series meditate on how language and story connect us across oceans, rivers, lands and imposed borders, and time.
Read a short reflection on the short film by curator Kate ten Buuren:
“'My mother never counted time in hours, she counted them in phases,' states Meilani [in] Chi Tran’s short film. Meilani shares that in the Javanese calendar, a new day begins when the sun sets. She is mourning the death of her mother, and each day she retreats to the banks of the Birrarung, the river that runs through Melbourne. Time, in this film, becomes as liquid as the flowing Birrarung.
credits
Chi Tran
Julie Ha
Tavis Pinnington
Chi Tran
Arben Ramiz
Rizky Pratama
Corey Clement
Mia Duncan
Andrew Pham
Olivia Koh
John Szetho
Sana Panghal
Niklas Malkin
Tim Hardy
Andrew Pham
Wei Huang
Lorilee Yang
Jennifer Ly
Trần Như Hùng
Trần Thị Hương
Karina Utomo
Alexa Le-Maniphonh
Nigel Yang
Nicole Le
2023
30.48 mins
Drama
Writer/Director
Producer
Dir. of Photography
Editor
Composer
Sound
Gaffer
Camera Assistant
Production Assistant
Colourist
Stills Photography
Unit by
Titles Design
Film Poster
Sawan Nai’s Bag
Radio Voice by
Catering
Cast
Alexa's Guardian
Prod Completion
Length
Genre
Supported by
follow their journey
