EUNUCH
China, 21 mins, Digital
SiRen follows a socially withdrawn man in his late twenties, born with no genitals, whose life has been shaped by repression, imitation, and silence.
During a road trip through northern China, SiRen reunites with Squad Leader, a former class leader from their behavior correction school days. Once admired, Squad Leader now clings to exaggerated memories of authority, masking his fragility with aggressive performativity. He is accompanied by his girlfriend, an ambitious yet insecure art student whose pursuit of “truth” is entangled with self-surveillance and desire.
As the journey progresses, the trio becomes locked in a shifting structure of power, humiliation, and projection. Through fragmented memories of correction school, a history of manipulation and betrayal resurfaces. In the isolation of the landscape, their constructed identities begin to collapse. What emerges is a quiet but devastating eruption of violence.
Director: Longjie Chen
Writer: Lonjie Chen
Producer: Takayoshi Koyama
Director of Photography: Zhuojia "Jason" Miao
Editor: Longjie Chen
Production Designer: Zhiyan Qu
Cast: Tiankuo Men
Contact: Longjie Chen, lc3677@columbia.edu
Program E
Saturday, May 16, 9 PM
About the Writer/Director
Longjie Chen was born in Russia and raised in China. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Film (Directing and Screenwriting) at Columbia University. He studied cinematography as an undergraduate and later continued his education in Media Production in the UK, where he began directing his own films.
His work focuses on the psychological states of individuals within social transformation, influenced by psychoanalytic and philosophical thought, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between image and human nature.
He received the Best Cinematography Award at the New York 48 Hour Film Festival and Best Director at the Alps Film Festival. He is currently in post-production on his first feature film.
About the Producer
Takayoshi Koyama is a filmmaker and storyteller at Columbia MFA creative producing concentration, driven by a lifelong fascination with human presence, labor, and what gets lost when machines mediate expression. Rooted in a decade of work across media and entertainment in Japan, he brings both analytical rigor and creative conviction to producing.
