Locust Tree
A young girl named Xiaohuai and her father runs a shelter for disabled people. A fan of the movies, Xiaohuai would play movies in the courtyard of the shelter every night while explaining the plot of the movies to her audience. The patients at the shelter would refer to it as “Paradise Cinema”. One day, a call from the other side of the ocean would break the peace in this shelter.
Statement
As a child, Xiaohuai lived with her parents in a courtyard house located in northern Beijing. In the beginning, her father only intended to provide shelter for a few homeless and disabled people but over time the occupants grew in number. Among the occupants were people with intellectual disabilities, elders with dementia, people that are blind, and even some that are crippled. When her father turned their little home into a shelter, Xiaohuai’s mother got angry and instead of understanding his decision, she chooses to leave her husband and the rest of the patients at the shelter moving to the United States of America. Growing up with a passion for the movies, Xiaohuai created “Paradise Cinema” where she puts on movies every night for the patients at her home. One day, she received a phone call from her mother inviting her to move overseas. Caught in the moment, Xiaohuai is unsure of where she should go.
