‘Living the Land’ Trailer – Huo Meng’s Berlinale Winning Drama Weaves Tender Story of Rural China

Living the Land, the coming-of-age drama by writer-director Huo Meng, captures the heart and soul of rural China at a moment of sweeping change.

With a cast led by Wang Shang as ten-year-old Xu Chuang and supported by Zhang Chuwen, Zhang Yanrong, Zhang Caixia, and Cao Lingzhi, the film unfolds across four generations of villagers in Henan Province.

Living the Land debuted in competition at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, where Huo Meng won the Silver Bear for Best Director, and is now scheduled for a U.S. theatrical release on April 3, 2026.

Here is the synopsis of Living the Land: In the village of Bawangtai in 1991, time appears to have stood still. Despite the rapid industrialization happening in cities across China, everyday rural life for farming families in the Henan province remains steadfastly tied to the demands of the land. 10-year-old Xu Chuang, the third-born child of one such family, is unceremoniously left with his wheat farmer uncle when his parents and older siblings set out to find work in the Southern city of Shenzhen. Cared for, though unable to shake the feeling he doesn’t belong with the extended Li family, Chuang finds comfort in a young aunt, who feels similarly uneasy as she is pressured to marry, and his surly but kind nonagenarian great-grandmother. Each season rolls into the next, and Chuang learns the quotidian rhythms of the land which they all till, at once bucolic, cruel, cyclical, and nourishing.

Director Huo Meng explained, “Living the Land explores the profound impact of this historical moment on the traditions, emotions, and relationships of the Chinese people. Like an unstoppable wind, these changes swept through every aspect of life.’

He added, “I wanted to depict how, when collectivist social policies collided with traditions shaped over millennia, people were forced to adapt in ways that challenged their very way of life. I also felt it was important to depict the immense pressures that women faced – both socially and physically – that left lasting and often irreversible harm. These topics are vast, but are reflected in the personal stories of this one family.”

In a detailed review from the International Cinephile Society Film covering the film’s Berlin screening, the critic wrote, “Huo Meng lovingly paints his sprawling story, which sees funerals and weddings, New Year’s celebrations and marital feuds. His understanding of milieu clearly shines through here; there is an authenticity to the rural environment and the family dynamics that feel lived-in, at least from the perspective of an outsider who has never lived in the Chinese countryside.”

Watch the official trailer for Living the Land above.