Screening of Those Who Leave, Those Who Stay (离开的人，留下的人)

Film screening poster

Share via

The Asian Cultural Research Hub at the University of Melbourne invites you to a screening of Those Who Leave, Those Who Stay (离开的人，留下的人), a film by Wan Qing (万青), followed by an online discussion with the director.
The film follows three friends at a crossroads: one is about to leave Guangzhou and China behind indefinitely, one envisions a decade of itinerant life within the country, one lingers in the present without a clear direction. Working from a place of deliberate relinquishment of control, Wan Qing turns the camera on the texture of collective life at the moment of potential dispersal — the loves, friendships, and people we have thought little of who vanish without farewell. The film sits quietly with the question that haunts so many in contemporary China: to leave, or to stay.
Following the screening, Wan Qing will join us online to reflect on the film's making and her broader practice. The session will be hosted by Ling Tang (Lecturer in Cultural Studies, University of Melbourne) and close with an open Q&A.
--
Date: Thursday 15 October 2026
Time: 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Venue: Room 353, Level 3, Arts West North Wing, Parkville Campus, University of Melbourne
--
About the director:
Wan Qing is an artist and film worker, practitioner of self-organisation and Five Elements Acupuncture, based in Guangzhou and Chongqing. Her work moves between documentary, collective practice, and modes of presence that resist easy categorisation.

Register here

We would be grateful if you could share this invitation with postgraduate students and colleagues working in film studies, cultural studies, Asian studies, and related fields.