The Pigeon Ring

Synopsis

Lyn gives in to her aging grandfather’s stubborn wish and accompanies him back to a longabandoned family home in search of a missing pigeon leg band. As they search through the old rooms, fragments of the family’s past begin to surface, revealing another side of him, one buried deep within memory, obsession, and unspoken regret.

Statement

The Pigeon Ring is inspired by the director’s childhood and her gradual journey toward understanding her family as an adult. Growing up, she struggled to understand her grandfather’s strict way of raising her. Years later, when she returned to the old family home, she found him still training his pigeons in much the same way he had once raised her. It was then that she began to realize that his unwavering beliefs about pigeon racing, education, and family responsibility were not simply expressions of his personality, but traces of an era carried by ordinary people. Through Gaussian Splatting, we sought to reconstruct this real family home and invite experiencers to step inside it. Rather than observing the story through a screen, visitors are encouraged to explore the space at their own pace, allowing the story to unfold through their own movement and presence. We hope the experience offers not only an intimate portrait of one family, but also a reflection on how values, memories, and ways of living are quietly passed from one generation to the next.

Credits

Director

Yuqi Zhang, Shixin Tao

Production

Hangzhou Ostar Media (Tianhong Pan, Xiaofan Cui, Shixin Tao), 4DV Productions (Jaming Sun), Zhe Jiang Burning Innovative Film and Television Technology (Xuetai Tao), Beijing Film Academy Sound School (Xiangying Zhang), Communication University of China (Lin Che)

Running Time

35'

Language

Sichuanese (Chinese)

Country

China

Main Cast

Youyi Wang, Kaihua Liu, Gang Huang, Ying Huang, Luoxi Wang, Ran Chen

Screenplay

Yuqi Zhang

Editor

Runze Niu

Music

Qiuyu Wang

Sound

Zizheng Liu, Xiangying Jiang

Art director

Shiling Jiang

Lead developer

Jiaming Sun

Developers

Siyu Zhang, Yu Zhang

Lead designers

Yueyi Zhang, Yuxiao Xuan

Designer

Qi Jia

Artists

Junxiao Wang, Yiwen Yang, Yukang Ye, Shan Wang

Technical team

Zhengjia Ma, Yilun Li, Xuekai Tao, Haoran Li