For ten short days, a young Chinese actress and a Belgian filmmaker embark on a relationship that blurs the line between performance and reality. The protagonists, Jin Jing and Matthias Delvaux, develop a bond that defies classification as they treat each other both as lovers and strangers. Hangzhou-based director Xinyuan Zheng Lu presents A White butterfly on a Bus like an unedited documentary; the camera style switches from static, observational shots to suffocating handheld close-ups. The up-and-coming director made this project as part of First Training Camp’s filmmaker program designed to cultivate a new generation of directors by sharpening their skills. A White Butterfly on a Bus was screened at Beijing International Short Film Festival and First International Film Festival Xining in 2018. Aside from film, Zheng Lu has displayed her work at photo exhibitions, co-written two books and experimented in other art forms as she tries to cultivate a personal visual practice that explores the boundaries of visual media.
