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Eternal Spring takes a deeply creative approach to framing and sharing the history it covers, involving renowned comic book illustrator Daxiong in channeling painful memories of government suppression in China. Daxiong explores his own connections to the banned Falun Gong faith as vivid animation brings to life the daring heist undertaken in 2002 of a Chinese state TV station.
I had the chance to speak with filmmaker Jason Loftus about the tremendously intriguing nature of this project, and why animation was ultimately the right choice to present it to audiences.
He also talked about working in different media and how they’re more connected than people might think, in addition to highlighting the excitement of the film being the first animated film and the first documentary to be selected by Canada to represent the country in the Best International Feature Oscar race.
You can watch the video above, and read below for an official summary and where to watch.
Film summary:
Confronted with government denunciations and human rights violations against their spiritual practice, a group of Chinese activists executes a bold and perilous plan to hack into state television. Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, ETERNAL SPRING (長春) retraces the event on its 20th anniversary, and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.
Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer’s articles.
Eternal Spring is currently playing in theaters.