The Cannes Film Festival 2021 has just concluded and the highlight for us this year is no doubt the Short Film Palme d'Or award, which was claimed by Hong Kong director Tang Yi for her 14-minute production of Tian Xia Wu Ya (All The Crows In The World).
Drawing from the director’s own experience as a teenager, the film was shot and set in Mainland China. The dark comedy follows the journey of 18-year-old student Shengnan, who is invited to a mysterious party by her cousin. Upon arrival, Shengnan immediately finds herself surrounded by gross middle-aged men – with the exception of Jianguo. Eventually, Shengnan and Jianguo decide to make a run for it and bail on the party, thus embarking on a night of adventures in the adult world.
Palme d'Or du Court Métrage pour Tous les Corbeaux du Monde de Tang Yi #Cannes2021 pic.twitter.com/rKdyeXAxso
— CANAL+ Cinéma (@CanalplusCinema) July 17, 2021
In her acceptance speech, Tang Yi gave thanks to Fresh Wave and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council for funding the film and expressed her hopes that this would not be the peak of her film-making career as she wishes to return to Cannes in the future.
If you want to see more of Tang’s work, be sure to check out Black Goat (2019), which was awarded the Jury Award for Narrative Student Short at the 2019 Austin Film Festival.