NEW YORK, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Our Time Machine, a Chinese documentary narrating a father-son relationship, held its world premiere here on Sunday at the Village East Cinema.
The heart touching story described how Ma Liang, a 40-some Chinese artist in Shanghai, got closer to his father who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.
In the story shown at the Tribeca Film festival, Ma made a dedicated puppet play with autobiographical scenes inspired by his memories with his father, who was former artistic director of a Shanghai Chinese Opera theater.
During the process, Ma found the love of his life, became more aware of life's complexities, and finally accepted the reality of his father's deteriorating disease.
The 80-minute-long documentary has also "reflected contemporary financial and social challenges of putting on a complex and wholly original hybrid art performance", said U.S. screenwriter Sudeep Sharma.
The directors, Sun Yang and S. Leo Chiang, believe the documentary is "an evergreen story, relevant for past and future generations and across cultural divides, so long as there is love between children and their parents".
The two hope their film "offers an intimate look at a middle-class Chinese family facing issues that audience around the world can immediately relate to," as the story highlights "the similarities between people in the West and in China."
The Tribeca Film festival, named after the Tribeca neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, was founded in the wake of 9.11 attacks by actors and actress Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and has showcased films around the world.
This year's festival will last till May 5.
