COL



A Wonderful Thing to Do

2026 | Film, editing, prop design, prototyping




 “A Wonderful Thing to Do” is a fictional short film. Set in 2032, when an asteroid is expected to bring an end to human civilization within months, the protagonist builds a device to make the most sincere and perfect wish toward the falling asteroid on the final day. The project originates from the experience of living through the Shanghai lockdown in 2022. It asks how an experience of crisis can be carried in a way that gives strength, and how such experiences might help one better prepare for future crises.

Inspired by real human responses—seemingly meaningless acts that preserve inner order and dignity—the film unfolds as a metaphorical story of resilience. The wishing device combines scientific research, Chinese astrology, and knot-tying rituals, and is presented through a first-person pseudo-vlog. The film pays tribute to sincere naïveté and offers resilience as an encouragement for the future.






The work originated from my experience during the Shanghai lockdown in 2022. Months of non-ordinary life marked by uncertainty and crisis left a deep impact on me. Sudden and overwhelming situations like the pandemic, especially in the context of climate crisis and global instability today, seem less like exceptions and more like conditions that may reappear in the future. Over the past few years, I have kept asking myself: how do we carry and process such experiences? How can strength be created from difficult lives? And how might experiences of crisis help us better face those that may come again?

Difficulties take many forms, but what truly sustains people is a spirit of resilience. During the Shanghai lockdown, people found unexpected ways to keep their inner lives alive: some dressed up elaborately for daily COVID tests, turning them into small neighborhood fashion shows; students built cardboard dogs from delivery boxes and “walked” them together on campus; a friend of mine drew flowers on paper and placed them in cups of water. These acts, seemingly meaningless yet deeply sincere, were attempts to preserve an inner order.





Prototyping, Making and  Filming






Selections and Awards Official Selection - Experimental Fiction Filmmaking Festival (INEFF), UK
Honerable Mention - Mannheim Arts and Film Festival,  Germany