Zhiwan Cheung

"Return To Our Liquid State" contemplates life in the Pearl River Delta, a region embracing Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. This land is wreathed in water, seeping into every aspect of existence. Rivers carve their way through cities, and the seas are home to fishermen seeking safe passage from Mazu, goddess of the sea. Beneath these prosperous waters lies a profound need to dominate nature, forever clashing with its innate beauty. In its silent ballet, the moon pulls the tides in a rhythmic embrace, its phases whispering secrets to the sea. The film weaves in AI-generated landscapes, born from the filmmaker’s recordings of the sea around the Greater Bay Area. Here, memories of place blend with the collective memory of an AI, interpreting the sublime through its own lens.