Room

Room is inspired by a quiet but pervasive reality in many women’s lives: at different stages of growing up and adulthood, a truly private, undisturbed room of one’s own often remains out of reach. Set in an immaculate kitchen washed in soft, artificial afternoon light, the three-minute solo screendance follows a woman as she repeats domestic tasks—wiping, scrubbing, chopping—until the
rhythm of work tightens and gradually turns into dance. Kicking off her heels, she steps into a brief, self-contained world of movement, as if reclaiming the space through her body. But just as this fragile freedom takes hold, unexpected guests burst in. The frame widens, revealing the kitchen as a constructed studio set and her “exclusive space” as something staged and observed. The film asks: what kind of autonomy is possible when even the room itself is an illusion?

Directed by Yuyan Zhang (China)