Yu-Han Tsai newest short film, DUA JI will screen at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival. The film is set in a rural Taiwan town during her mother’s funeral, DUA JI follows the eldest daughter, as she is forced to confront the patriarchal rituals and quiet weight of duty that has long defined her life.

As the ceremonies unfold and tensions quietly surface, the story positions itself as both an intimate personal journey and a reflection of gender, cultural inheritance, and intergenerational tension.

The inspiration of the story stems from Tsai’s family history in rural Taiwan, where grandmother gave birth to six daughters before finally having a son. Years later, witnessing her grandmother’s Taoist funeral where the rituals centered on the male figure, revealed to Tsai the challenges women face within traditional family structures.

Yu-Han Tsai takes us inside a family’s grief while they prepare for their mother’s funeral and will life just move on after it’s over or does one hold onto the past?

This is a very emotional film as we live it through the heart of A-Hsien, the eldest daughter. We feel her grief, her quiet resentment to her only brother and her struggle to truly say goodbye to her mother. This film will resonate with many people around the world as grief is universal, but how we handle grief is not. Again, grief is just love looking for a place to go. #SXSW #shortfilm #austin #filmmaker #interview #filmmaking #bondoncinema #cinema #film #filmdirector

Oscar nominated short film, BUTCHER’S STAIN is about an Arab Israeli working in a supermarket in Tel Aviv and is accused of tearing down hostage posters in the break room. He sets out to prove his innocence to keep this job that he desperately needs.

BUTCHER’S STAIN should help you open your eyes and stop assuming that someone’s is guilty without knowing the truth. And this film shows what happens if we fall into judging stereotypes.

I found this film to be very powerful in its messaging and has found its rightful place among the other Oscar nominated short films.

#oscars #academyawards #shortfilm #film #cinema #bondoncinema #filmmaker #filmmaking #filmdirector #screenwriter

THE GIRL WHO CRIED PEARLS is simply a stunning story and with its own unique animation, making it stand out among the other Oscar contenders.

The story is told from two locations. In Montreal, at the dawn of the 20th century, a poor boy falls in love with a girl whose sorrow turns into pearls. He sells them to a ruthless pawnbroker, who hungers for more. Tempted by greed, the boy must choose between love and fortune. The choice could damn his soul.

In modern-day Paris, an elegant grandfather recounts the story of a poor boy in turn-of-the-20th-century Montreal.

Desperate for food and shelter, a ragged street urchin finds an abandoned apartment to sleep. But life is full of surprises.

Unaware that an extraordinary person lives behind the wooden kitchen wall, the young squatter soon discovers the marvelous gift of a sad girl, and profound feelings of first love begin to fill his soul.

However, pure intentions go hand-in-hand with choice and regret. As a shady pawnbroker ruins everything with this greed, the burden of consequence demands an answer. What happened to the girl who cried pearls?

#animation #animatedshort #shortfilm #film #cinema #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #storytelling #fable #oscars #academyawards