In the late 20th century, the need for a new radio and television tower led Dino’s grandfather and his colleagues to conduct a feasibility study. Following China’s economic reform, Shanghai—Dino’s hometown—rapidly evolved, with its urban landscape transforming daily throughout the modernization process. Today, it looks entirely different from the city he knew as a child—there, yet not there.1 At times, he finds himself losing track of time, drifting through memories that circulate and return. 

 

     By entwining a collection of diaries, family photos, and architectural blueprints, There, there (2024) explores how state and societal changes shape an individual and how personal experiences contribute to the broader historical narrative. It presents a discursive formation that heterochronically captures Dino’s childhood during these transformative years. The newly built TV tower, a symbol of urbanization in national discourse, stands as a defining feature of Shanghai's skyline. History decays into images, not into stories.2 The film seeks to challenge the continuum of history with fragmented memories, treating the past as a living narrative to be continuously engaged.

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1  Stein, Gertrude. (1971). Everybody's Autobiography. New York: Cooper Square. 

2  Benjamin, Walter. (1982). The Arcades Project. Translated by Howard Eiland and Kevin McLaughlin. Harvard University Press.