Set in 2010 in the
landlocked Gansu province of Northwest China, the impending threat of
urbanisation relentlessly encroaches on their attempts to build a home
together, and on the beauty they find in the simplicity of agrarianism.
Shot during the pandemic and filmed over the course of a calendar year, the
seasons blossom from winter to summer, much like the crops they laboriously
tend and their flourishing love. As in many of his other films, Return To
Dust is set in film director Li Ruijun’s hometown, the small rural village
of Gaotoi. with his uncle and real-life farmer Wu Renlin taking on the role
of Ma. Li’s deep connection to his birthplace brings a further gravity to
his exploration of family, relationships, and life and death in a rapidly
evolving China
