Janitor's Virtual Romance Collapses in Sci-Fi Drama

A solitary janitor's virtual romance unravels in the romantic sci-fi drama "Light Pillar." The film, which recently had its worldwide sales rights acquired by Dubai-based Cercamon, screens in competition for the best first feature award. The janitor, immersed in a virtual relationship, finds his escape collapsing as a production crew arrives to film an alien invasion.

Director Xu employs a unique visual strategy, blending hand-drawn animation for the protagonist's mundane reality with live-action sequences for his vivid virtual escape. This contrast highlights the film's themes of chasing happiness and overlooking joy present in one's immediate surroundings.

Da Peng stars as the janitor and serves as executive producer. Xu, whose previous work premiered at Rotterdam, also wrote the screenplay and created the storyboards for "Light Pillar," a genre-crossing narrative with touches of comedy.