Venice: M-Appeal Picks Up Chinese Director Jie Dong’s ‘Zoom In, Zoom Out’ Ahead of Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

Berlin-based world sales company M-Appeal has boarded “Zoom In, Zoom Out,” the debut feature from Chinese director Jie Dong, set to premiere in Venice Critics’ Week.

The film follows Shi as he searches the city for his missing roommate Gao, a search that leads him to Gao’s girlfriend YY. Together, they begin piecing the fragments left behind, drawn into a space where memory, reality and the digital world increasingly intertwine.

Producer Shanshan Cao said: “The film captures the changing living conditions and shifting spiritual outlook of contemporary Chinese youth, in a world where the digital realm is fundamentally reshaping our lifestyles and relationships. I believe audiences everywhere will recognize something of themselves in it.” Popular on Variety

The director added: “At its core, this film stems from an impulse that has always haunted me: why are we so fascinated by the hidden traces left behind by someone who has disappeared? When a person’s existence is reduced to chat logs, game avatars, and fragments of memory, how do we hold on to them?

“The virtual world has become a reality, people still seek each other out there, and even as technology distorts life and creates distance, we still long for connection. I believe our audience and I share this impulse, because we share the same present world, one we are all immersed in, yet one that is rarely treated with tenderness.”

Jie Dong is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. His editing credits include “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” which premiered at Cannes in 2021. “Zoom In, Zoom Out” marks his feature directing debut.

“The film pairs a bold visual style with a story that keeps getting more compelling with every turn. It is emotional, entertaining and universal, carried by strong performances. A confident, original piece of filmmaking, and quite simply, a must watch,” Maren Kroymann of M-Appeal said.