DEATH EDUCATION
死亡教育课
WORLD PREMIERE
Yuxuan Ethan Wu‘s Sundance 2025 short DEATH EDUCATION has no soundtrack. Wu’s cinematography and Tairui Zhu‘s location sound set the tone for the entire film. This pensive piece opens in quiet stillness, then transitions into jarring images of things the public never sees — a sterile metal morgue of a funeral home and the cremation of an unknown child.
The Chinese tradition of Tomb Sweeping Day gets a stark contrast as teacher Jianbo Qian brings his students, grades 7 to 12, to a communal burial for unnamed ashes. Each one carefully handles a red bag filled with the remains of people unclaimed by loved ones. It is an exercise exploring death, respect, and reflection.
Heartbreaking, eye-opening, and thoughtful, in thirteen minutes, DEATH EDUCATION has an unshakable impact. It begs you to think beyond your comfort zone. It is a beautifully universal lesson in empathy.
DEATH EDUCATION: CHINA, 2023, 13 min. In Mandarin Chinese. Directed by Yuxuan Ethan Wu; Field Producer: Zheng Hua; Cinematographer and Editor: Yuxuan Ethan Wu; Sound Design: Dave Cerf; Location Sound: Tairui Zhu; Sound Mix: Guodong Zhang; Colorist: Fu Shu; Poster by Qin Zhaoying.
Remaining DEATH EDUCATION Screenings:
Tuesday, January 28th
3.00 p.m.
Broadway Centre Cinemas 3
Saturday, February 1st
8.10 p.m.
Megaplex Redstone 2
January 30 – February 3
Sundance ONLINE
SYNOPSIS
In China, on the traditional Tomb Sweeping Day, families visit graves to honor their ancestors. It’s a moment for the living to connect with the dead, where the words on tombstones tell stories of lives lived and relationships formed. Yet, in funeral homes, there are unnamed ashes— some belonging to children as young as two years old, others left behind for decades. These unclaimed ashes, without names or histories, remain forgotten, with only the date of their cremation marked. Through the ritual of a communal burial, Teacher Jianbo Qian seeks to open up the conversation about death for his students, many of whom are encountering this subject for the first time. The attending students, ranging from seventh to twelfth grade, pick up red bags of scattered ashes, reflecting on the emotions of loss and grief.
FILMMAKER: Yuxuan Ethan Wu (吴雨轩)
Ethan is an emerging filmmaker and photographer based in the Bay Area. He graduated from Emerson College with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Arts Production and a minor in Photography. Born and raised in Changsha, China, Ethan has lived in various cities, including Beijing, Boston, and New York City. He frequently travels between the U.S. and China and is currently residing in Palo Alto, where he is pursuing an MFA at Stanford University in the Documentary Film Program. His work has been featured by major news outlets, such as Phoenix New Media, Tencent, NetEase, and TJ Sports. His documentary films have been showcased at renowned international festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, and art house venues like the Anthology Film Archives.
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