Colored Umbilical Cord
Director：Lv Zixiang
Screenwriter：
Cast：Song Jiale
Producer：
Cinematographer：Lv Zixiang, Zhang Xiaoxin, Zhang Tengfei
Running Time：
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Language：Mandarin Chinese, Dialect
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SYNOPSIS
Since the age of 6, Song Jiale has harbored a wish: to become a girl and achieve physical and mental unity. At the age of 14, she left Songzhuang Village, working as a waitress and street vendor selling braised food. Yet the hustle and bustle of big cities couldn’t quiet her gender dysphoria. For three years, she traveled between Shanghai and her hometown, gathering documents for surgery while pleading with her family for acceptance. However, things did not go as planned, as her father and relatives were unable to accept her idea. Amidst the constant psychological struggle, Song Jiale resolved to undergo surgery. At the hospital, Song Jiale met many friends who were also transgender. They cared for each other and underwent a dream-like self-transformation. However, upon returning home after being discharged from the hospital, she was met with insults and accusations from her family. Their misunderstandings and the future path of her life may become her new anxieties.
Director Biography
Born in Suixi County, Anhui Province in 1993, I graduated with a degree in Product Design and have been working in the dynamic image industry ever since.
Director's Statement
I met Song Jiale in late 2022. She said she wanted someone to document her transformation process, so we started this documentary journal. The Huaihe River, which flows through the protagonist’s hometown, eventually merges with the Yangtze River and then flows into the sea at Shanghai. The protagonist’s dream of transformation mirrors the Huaihe River’s path. I tried to follow Jiale in her free-spirited life with an open mind, to understand her and the essence of “gender dysphoria”. After Jiale gradually realized her dream and entered the hospital, I met more transgender individuals. After struggling, surgery became their lifeline. However, many transgender individuals outside the camera remained mired in difficulties. Eliminating the problem of “gender dysphoria” through gender reassignment surgery and “being an ordinary girl” became their vision.
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