Cyan and Chen’s short documentary, ON THE MARGINS (v.2023), has won the Architecture Short Film Award at the 2024 Milano Design Film Festival.

The jury commented: ‘The film transports us to a remote corner of the world. Technically sophisticated yet aesthetically delightful, we immerse ourselves in a family where absence is palpable, yet through distant observation, intimacy and profound connection with the community are forged. The role of the margin in the movie is also very interesting, as a metaphor for a condition of life, as a spatial condition, as a place of encounter and physical and metaphorical opening.’

The short documentary is part of RIPPLE RIPPLE RIPPLING, a transdisciplinary framework that navigates architecture, anthropology, filmmaking and performance; attuning to how Chinese rural migrant workers make worlds. The project is supported by the Graham Foundation and the more information can be viewed here.

Image: Film still, ON THE MARGINS (2023). Codirected by Jingru (Cyan) Cheng and Chen Zhan.