Hu Lu’s extended short drama Pile On is heavy on ellipsis – do not starting watching with expectations of a full introduction or denouement – but packs a sequential comedic and dramatic punch that will force it hard into the memory. If Hu is achieving this sort of work in the space of 30 minutes, I cannot wait to see what they can do with a full-length feature.

The film follows Xiaohu, a 10-year-old child living in 1990s Shenyang. His family has been invited to a local wedding, but he argues that he has homework to finish. His parents strike a bargain: as soon as he completes his tasks, he can follow them to the wedding. He agrees, and they head off without him. As soon as they are out of the house Xiaohu is on the telephone to his friends, arranging the world’s most spontaneously and badly behaved child’s house party.

The group of boys immediately run rampant around the house, in the most shocking of fashions. Furniture and knick-knacks are broken. A water pistol fight descends to hoses of water being sprayed with reckless abandon inside the house. The teasing and rough-housing runs totally out of control. It is funny stuff at first, but as the behaviour grows rougher and more destructive it becomes increasingly more difficult to find it amusing.

There is, of course, a tonal shift at the mid-point, and any suggestion of comedy and spirited play is entirely abandoned. The second half of the film is dominated by a superbly realised and lengthy tracking shot, undertaken in comparative silence, that allows the full dramatic weight of the film to weigh down on its young protagonist. The film does not end in a neatly resolved manner; it does not need to, when so much of it is a foregone conclusion. It would be easy to suggest China’s Bi Gan was a major influence, but I think Hu’s use of the tracking shot is for a significantly different effect.

The film’s juvenile cast are exceptional, either by their own raw talent or Hu’s direction: it is almost certainly due to both. Pile On has been undergoing an international run of acclaim already, winning both Best Live-Action Short Film at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards as well as the Jury Prize at Busan. Most recently it played the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival, where its talented cast were specifically honoured. It is a short work well deserving of a wide audience, as well as future success for its talented writer/director.

Pile On screened at the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival. For more information, click here.