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“A tender and visually striking film about using art to combat the unrelenting difficulties of ageing.”
“…an elegant, focused piece of storytelling”
“Sun and Chiang convey the cyclical nature of existence with poignancy and grace, articulating how generational turnovers imperfectly but lovingly manifest through the lives of an artistic family.”
“…palpable magic”
“Our Time Machine is a wondrous blend of beautiful puppet imagery and even more beautiful family drama… It’s one of the best films of the year.”
“Moving… Compelling… a thoughtful, sensitive, brilliant subject.”
100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes
AWARDS
Tribeca 2019
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature
CAAMFest 2019
Winner – Documentary Competition
LA Asian Pacific Film Festival 2019
Grand Jury Award – International Documentary Feature
DocEdge 2019
Best International Director
Best in Category “All in the Family”
Indie Street Film Festival 2019
Jury Award – Best Documentary Feature Film
Minsk International Film Festival Listapad 2019
Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film
China Academy Awards of Documentary Film
Best Editing
Wakefield Doc Fest 2020
Best of Fest Audience Award
Salem Film Fest 2020
Special Jury Award
Les Écrans de Chine 2020
Grand Prix China Screen d’Or
Gotham Awards 2020
Best Documentary Nominee
Pordenone Docs Fest 2020
Jury Award – Best Documentary
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature
Winner – Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Award – International Documentary Feature
Best International Director
Best in Category “All in the Family”
Jury Award – Best Documentary Feature Film
Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film
Best Editing
Best of Fest Audience Award
Special Jury Award
Grand Prix China Screen d’Or
Best Documentary Nominee
Jury Award – Best Documentary
SYNOPSIS
Shaken by the news of his father’s dementia, artist Maleonn creates “Papa’s Time Machine,” a wondrous time-travel adventure performed on stage with life-size mechanical puppets. Through the play’s production, he confronts his own mortality. Maleonn finds grace and unexpected joy in this moving meditation on art, the agonies of love and loss, and the circle of life.
FILMMAKERS
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Yang Sun Director / Producer / Cinematographer
Shanghai-based director and cameraman Yang Sun has directed several short documentaries. This is his feature-length debut.
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S. Leo Chiang Director / Producer / Writer
S. Leo Chiang is a filmmaker based in San Francisco and Taipei. He co-founded the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc), and is a documentary branch member of the Academy.
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Bo Li Editor / Writer
Bo Li is a Beijing-based editor. His most recent film, PLASTIC CHINA, won the Special Jury Award for First Appearance at IDFA 2016, and was selected in 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
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Jean Tsien Executive Producer
Jean Tsien, ACE is a veteran documentary editor, producer, and consultant. She executive produced and edited Plastic China, the winner of the 54th Golden Horse Award for Best Editing. Tsien is a recipient of the Mentorship Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.