"In my hometown of Jiujiang, China, a natural lake and an amusement park share the same name: Gan Tang. The name, meaning “pear trees,” is often associated with a beautiful imagery and comes from the oldest Chinese poem collection, _Book of Odes_. [...] In the summer of 2023, the lake was blocked from the public, drained, and cleansed, followed by the demolition of the Gan Tang Park. The government promises a “new” lake and park, but the question remains: will they still bear the spirit of Gan Tang after these changes? Who decides what is “old” and “new” in a city’s story?" — Tianming Zhou
| Director | Tianming Zhou |
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At the 2025 edition of Cinéma sous les étoiles, the jury, composed of essayist, professor, and union organizer Dalie Giroux; documentary filmmaker and popular education facilitator mathilde capone; and anti-capitalist activist, journalist, and filmmaker Yvon D. Ranger, awarded the Best International Short Film Prize to Gan Tang, The Lake by Tianming Zhou.
“Like a moment suspended in time, this true visual poem offers a subtle yet powerful meditation on loss, memory, and all that is destined to disappear, at the expense of a future that erases and seeks to control the elements.”
The Jury of the 2025 edition of Cinéma sous les étoiles

At the 2025 edition of Cinéma sous les étoiles, the jury, composed of essayist, professor, and union organizer Dalie Giroux; documentary filmmaker and popular education facilitator mathilde capone; and anti-capitalist activist, journalist, and filmmaker Yvon D. Ranger, awarded the Best International Short Film Prize to Gan Tang, The Lake by Tianming Zhou.
“Like a moment suspended in time, this true visual poem offers a subtle yet powerful meditation on loss, memory, and all that is destined to disappear, at the expense of a future that erases and seeks to control the elements.”
The Jury of the 2025 edition of Cinéma sous les étoiles
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