WHEN THE RIVER SPLIT OPEN is the debut feature film of filmmaker and artist Jess X. Snow. From Executive Producer Kogonada and Oscar-Nominated Producer Su Kim, this film is a surreal, spiritual road movie about a queer Chinese American searching for their estranged father and confronting the environmental legacy and intergenerational trauma he left behind.

Help Us Reach Our Goal Before October

After six years in development we have hit a milestone and are now two months away from production. We have an award-winning cast and an accomplished creative team attached, ready to bring this film to life for production commencing at the end of November.

We have secured 60% of our production budget of $350,000. We’ve been able to raise this through grants, individual donors, and investors.

The remaining funds must be raised by October 15 to ensure production.

We are looking for community members who want to support underrepresented new voices. Who want to help launch a spiritually, ecologically, and artistically boundary-pushing film into production. Who want to help us bring this story to a global audience.

We are aiming to raise $60,000 by October 15th. This will fund our primary November shoot in Poyang Lake, China. It will go directly towards compensating our crew that prominently centers Asian American, Chinese, women, and queer film workers. This film centers Asian diasporic talent both in front of and behind the camera. We know the obstacles facing independent filmmakers right now, especially on a debut feature. That's why we've kept the budget lean, the vision ambitious but achievable.

All donations are 100% tax-deductible. Corporate matching is available through Benevity.

"I know first-hand that this film will be spectacular and politically and spiritually crucial for us now and for generations to come."

- Robin DG Kelley

Watch Our Mood Reel

WHEN THE RIVER SPLIT OPEN is the first narrative feature in the last fifty years to be shot in the awe-inspiring region of Poyang Lake in JiangXi China, where the writer/director’s ancestors hail. The community there regards the endangered Yangtze River dolphin as a sacred symbol of cultural identity, and the lake as China’s hidden ecological gem. The director and cinematographer traveled on location to JiangXi, China to film our mood reel below.

Synopsis

Rain is a queer, rebellious Chinese American whose father mysteriously left them and their mother in the United States during the most formative years of their life. On a family reunion in Southern China, when tensions with their mother reach a breaking point, Rain discovers a secret that leads them to seek out the truth about their estranged father, whose disappearance is entwined with the extinction of the Yangtze River dolphin.

Escaping into the villages surrounding China’s largest freshwater lake, Rain forges an uncanny bond with a local who helps them piece together the family secrets, fragile romances, and legacy their father left behind. What began as a search for a father evolves into a psychological and spiritual search for the self.

A Note From the Director

Dear Community Member,

After a decade of making short films, paintings and poems, I am embarking on the most important milestone of my life. My debut feature film. The six year journey toward production has become the most challenging, uncertain, yet fruitful and healing artistic experience of my life. WHEN THE RIVER SPLIT OPEN is a vibrant and sensual cinematic experience that allows audiences to feel a queer immigrant Chinese American’s psychological journey toward catharsis and forgiveness from the inside out.

After my parents left China for Canada, they had me and parted ways. My dad became an elusive engineer, and my overbearing mother went to university by day and worked by night to raise me. I spent much of my childhood feeling very alone. The memories I have of my father are few and far between, leaving a void I struggled to fill for most of my life.

Set in my family’s ancestral lands of JiangXi, China, this film is a love letter to my younger queer self and both my parents. It's also a letter to a landscape, the rivers and lakes of JiangXi, China, that birthed my family. As my grandparents were laid to rest back at home, and my life as an artist tethered me to the United States, I felt an ancestral call to one day return to JiangXi. Eventually, I realized the home I was searching for was not a place that could be recovered or a flawed parent I could change, but a healing practice within me that I had to choose every morning. I knew then, I had to tell this story.

Our protagonist, Rain, similar to myself, is not the token submissive model minority Chinese American woman. They are queer, rebellious and impatient, an outsider of two cultures, using sex as armor against an abandonment wound they haven't yet faced. Rain's father; a passionate but mysterious biologist–left them during their most formative years of their life. Our film begins when Rain ignites a heated argument with their mother at a family reunion and flees into a countryside as surreal as Spirited Away. Searching along the shores of Poyang Lake, Rain forms an unlikely companionship with Meng–a Chinese ethnic minority Buddhist grieving the loss of his mother. As their intimacy develops over shared grief, it echoes Chungking Express, and Lost In Translation. Together they confront the raw, intimate truth about Rain's father with the same unflinching tenderness as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Aftersun.

Rain’s journey shows us how abuse and neglect in parents often trace back to wounds of their own. When I finally saw my parents as the flawed humans they've always been; I discover a capacity for forgiveness that I didn't know was possible.

This film is how I will tell my parents;

I love you. I am sorry. I forgive you.

I have healed the wounds you have passed on to me.

Let Rain show you how to break that cycle and start a new one; a cycle of healing.

– Jess X. Snow, writer / director

Characters and Cast

Rain / Protagonist

25. Queer. Chinese-American. Rebellious, sensual but closed-off. Hot water about to boil over.

Raised in the US by their single mother, Rain carries an unhealed abandonment wound from their father. They fail to fit in with femininity and tradition, experiencing a perpetual alienation from the world around them. Always running away at the first sign of discomfort, Rain uses intimacy and their imagination to escape feeling the pain of their wound. Their physical search for their father leads them to a spiritual and psychological search for the self, eventually leading them to the discovery of a profound compassion for their parents and the world around them.

Huang An / Father

55. Reclusive, tunnel-visioned, misunderstood and esteemed freshwater biologist who vanished with the last Chinese river dolphin.

After a tumultuous divorce due to sharp ideological differences, Huang An left Rain and their mother in the USA to return to China when Rain was six. To overcome his shame of leaving his family behind, he poured himself into his work. After the Baiji was declared endangered, and his research became high in demand–he went into hiding from the public eye. It is possible he eventually became a Baiji, carrying all of his memories of Rain into the depths of Poyang lake.

Meng / Buddhist

35. Timid, Introspective, Guarded, Rigid, Reserved, Spiritual.

Like Haku is to Chihiro in Spirited Away, Meng is Rain’s guide in the spirit world of the Poyang Lake countryside. He was born to a father who disappeared in Tibet when he was six and a Han Chinese mother. Since the death of his mother ten years ago, he developed a strong Buddhist practice, and convinced himself he is content with his unpartnered and independent life. While he pays rent as a cook in a seafood restaurant, he dreams of moving to a Buddhist monastery in the mountains. His brief encounter with Rain tests his patience and awakens buried demons and desires previously hidden in his heart.

Yi-Yun / Father's Grieving Lover

42. Confident, sensual, aloof nightclub owner and retired biology student with a thick skin & warm heart.

After Rain’s father moved back to China, Yi-Yun became his research assistant, his confidante, and eventual lover. Together they lived a life amongst the Baiji in Poyang lake in a houseboat off the beaten path. While she loved him deeply, Huang An’s obsession with his research eventually left her feeling neglected. Now a nightclub owner and songstress, she is determined to leave her past behind.

Zhou Hong / Rain's Mother

52. Woman. Coder. Dance Teacher. Practical, traditional, stubborn, hard-working, over-protective.

When she immigrated to the USA with Huang An, she strictly followed the American Dream, creating a rift of ideological differences. After Huang An’s departure, she continued to raise Rain by herself. She applies undue pressure on Rain to become the model minority and have the stable life she never had. When Rain discovers Zhou Hong kept Huang An’s only attempt to visit his child a secret, it sparks a conflict that starts the central journey of the film.

A Note from the Producer

As a Korean-American producer committed to illuminating the cinematic poetry of people marginalized by imposed boundaries, I am drawn to WHEN THE RIVER SPLIT OPEN for exploring the lives of outsiders.

Jess X. Snow brings an authentic and intimate perspective told through a Chinese-Canadian diasporic lens with honesty, nuance, and emotional depth. After five years of development, the project has evolved into an ambitious international co-production with a remarkable creative team.

Jess X. Snow’s collections of short films, currently streaming on the Criterion Channel—reveal a singular cinematic language and a deeply empathetic portrayal of queer Asian migrants searching for belonging. WHEN THE RIVER SPLIT OPEN will continue this trajectory while aligning with a growing global appetite for bold, director-driven cinema that transcends borders. Through its intersection of identity, memory, and environmental collapse, the film speaks not only to international global cinema audiences, but also to anyone who believes that healing personal trauma is inseparable from healing our planet.

– Su Kim, Oscar-Nominated Producer

Audience and Impact

We live in a moment of compounding crises: accelerating ecological collapse, sustained attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. Our culture hasn't developed the tools to sit with this much overlapping loss. Heartbroken and overwhelmed, people become avoidant. They disassociate. We know this pattern from the inside.

WHEN THE RIVER SPLIT OPEN is:

An intimate journey about how chosen family can help us confront both our deepest wounds and biggest social issues.
A spiritual odyssey about the urgency of climate justice.
An immersive blend of surrealism, fantasy, coming of age drama and romance told through the eyes of a flawed, relatable queer Asian American character rarely seen.
A universal story exploring diasporic homecoming, environmentalism, mental health and queer identity.

As the first cetacean species driven extinct by humans in modern times, the Baiji river dolphin is one of the most symbolic environmental stories of our planet. This film is a cultural artifact: a story that transcends borders by touching upon shared ecological grief, with the emotional anchor of a personal homecoming story. In addition to a major film festival premiere and a global theatrical and streaming release, we will leverage our our team’s long standing relationships with film organizations, high schools and universities to help this urgent story reach our community and beyond.

Our impact campaign includes:

A screening tour at universities with Q&A screenings, and filmmaking workshops to empower the next generation of storytellers.
Screenings and discussions with scientists and environmental organizations that spark urgent conversations connected to their work of protecting our planet.
Partnerships with Asian American/Canadian film and art organizations
Community gatherings exploring the intersection of mental health and climate justice. A free digital and print teaching guide with discussion questions.

Writer / Director and Producing Team

Writer / Director

Jess X. Snow is an Academy Award-Shortlisted Chinese Canadian filmmaker, muralist and poet. Exploring the Asian immigrant unconscious through surrealism, fantasy, horror, and drama they were recently named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Their narrative shorts, Roots That Reach Toward The Sky, I Wanna Become the Sky, Little Sky and Safe Among Stars are currently streaming on the Criterion Channel. Previously their shorts screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, BFI London, Short Shorts (Tokyo), SFFilm, Sapporo, DMZ Docs, BlackStar, Ann Arbor and Durban (Special Mention of the Jury) and many more. Their producing credits have screened at Sundance (Short Film Jury Award for Non-Fiction), TIFF and SXSW and have been distributed by Short of the Week, Focus Features, Vimeo Staff Picks, Le Cinema Club and more. Read more about Jess's filmmaking practice in an interview with Robin DG Kelley on the Criterion Collection here.

Executive Producers

Kogonada is a filmmaker. He writes and directs feature films including Columbus (2017), After Yang (2021), Zi (2026). He also produces and edits film essays.

Kevin Tsukii is a multi-disciplinary queer Japanese-Malaysian American filmmaker and producer based in the Bay Area. Kevin’s producing credits include: A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami (2021), After the Fallout (2020) and After Solitary (2017).

Producers

Su Kim is a Korean American filmmaker committed to illuminating the cinematic poetry of people marginalized by imposed boundaries. Today, she is an Academy Award-nominated, two-time Emmy and Peabody winning producer. Her acclaimed films include Hale County This Morning, This Evening (Academy Award nominee), Free Chol Soo Lee (Emmy winner), Bitterbrush (Telluride), and Midnight Traveler (Emmy winner).

Frisly Soberanis is a new media artist and film producer from Guatemala, now based in Detroit via Queens, NY. He has produced numerous short films that have premiered at TIFF, SXSW, SFFilm and BFI London Film Festival and streamed on The Criterion Channel, HBO MAX, Focus Features and Short of the Week.

Akemi Look is a Japanese and Chinese American producer and actress based in Los Angeles. Her recent producing highlights include Roots that Reach Toward The Sky (streaming on Criterion Channel), which premiered at BFI London Film Festival. She served as an executive producer on We Were The Scenery, shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards after winning the Sundance Short Film Jury Award - Non Fiction.

Petrus van Staden is a South African filmmaker. He produced and edited films that have screened at Locarno, SXSW, Special Jury Mention at AFI Fest), New Directors New films and Clermont- Ferrand. His work has been distributed by Netflix, Mubi, Topic, Canal + Poland and WatchArgo. Recently, he was a producing participant of the Film Independent Producing Lab, DEENTAL-ACP Producers Network at Cannes Marché Du Film, and Marrakech’s Atlas Workshops.

Andreas Nicholas is an award-winning director, writer, and producer born and raised in Chicago. He served as an executive producer on We Were The Scenery, shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards after winning the Sundance Short Film Jury Award - Non Fiction. As a producer, he has an extensive roster of short films that have been acquired for distribution (Criterion Channel, HBO MAX, National Film Board of Canada) and played at 40+ festivals worldwide.

Creative Team

Cinematographer

Sheldon Chau’s recent credits as cinematographer include: ZI,(additional cinematographer) a science-fiction romance directed by Kogonada that premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, POOJA, SIR, a Nepalese police thriller that premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival; DEMBA - a Senegalese drama that premiered at this year’s Berlinale; Nafi's Father, Senegal’s official entry to the 2021 Oscars. Sheldon has specialized in shooting internationally, working with diverse colleagues, and balancing both large- and guerrilla-sized crews

Editor

Christopher Radcliff is a mixed Chinese American filmmaker based in New York City. His work has screened worldwide including at Sundance, SXSW, and online via Criterion Channel, Short of the Week, and Vimeo Staff Picks. His documentary short, We Were The Scenery is winner of the Sundance Short Film Jury Award - Non-Fiction and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. His feature editing and post-production credits include Palm Trees and Power Lines (2022, Sundance, Momentum Pictures), After Yang (2021, Cannes, Sundance, A24) and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020, Sundance, Berlinale Silver Bear, Focus Features).

Composer

Alex Zhang Hungtai is a multi-disciplinary artist focused on improvisation and its correlation with the unconscious. After retiring his project Dirty Beaches, Zhang has been focusing on explorations of improvised music, free jazz, and as a composer for film soundtracks. He has appeared in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return under the fictitious band Trouble. His latest feature film score Godland by Hlynur Pálmason was in competition at Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard.

Production Designer

Liu Lian is a Production Designer and Costume Designer based in Beijing. She production designed the short films: Across The Waters(Cannes Film Festival Short Film Competition) and A Soil A River A Culture A People (82nd Venice Film Festival – Orizzonti). She has also contributed in the Production Design Departments of the following narrative features: Out Of This World (Opening film of the 78th Venice Days), The Botanist (International Jury Award for Best Feature in Berlinale’s Generation Kplus), To Kill A Mongolian Horse (Nominated for Best Film of the 81st Venice Days).

Creative Advisor

Andrew Ahn is a queer Korean American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Ahn's latest film The Wedding Banquet premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is distributed by Bleecker Street and Universal International. His previous film Fire Island (Searchlight Pictures) was nominated for two Emmy Awards and won the Ensemble Tribute at the 2023 Gotham Awards and a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Film Streaming/TV. Ahn's sophomore feature Driveways premiered at the 2019 Berlinale and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.

International Sales Agent

Rooted in Sinophone cinema, Parallax Films is an independent boutique film sales and distribution company based in Europe, China and Hong Kong. Parallax actively works with films from East, Southeast, Central and South Asia, striving to bring outstanding commercial and artistic films from the region to audiences worldwide. Their recent titles include: Kogonada’s Zi, (2026 Sundance and Busan International Film Festival), Neo Sora’s A Very Straight Neck, (Locarno Film Festival) and Annapurna Roy’s Lovers In The Blue Night (Venice Horizons Best Director Winner), Lee Hong-Chi’s Love Is A Gun (Venice Lion of the Future Award) and Shanghai Daughter (Berlinale Panorama).

Fiscal Sponsor

Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation (PAAFF) is a proud fiscal sponsor of this project. PAAFF has showcased Jess X. Snow's short films over the years, where they received several top honors at the annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.

Supported By

The stories we tell are love letters that outlive this lifetime. We hope this one will continue to be watched, inspire spiritual healing, quiet revelation, environmental action and bravery—things that our community needs in this moment—for generations to come.

Thank you for reading.

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When The River Split Open - a debut feature film