2026 Film: The Timekeeper

The Timekeeper by Chenchen Zhou
Los Angeles, CA (Wisconsin Premiere)

Running Time: 3 minutes

Animation

September 

Avalon Atmospheric Theater

2473 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207

Director's Statement:

This film is inspired by my personal memories of growing up with my grandmother—a woman whose life was built around precision and punctuality. As a child, I often felt frustrated by the rigidity of her routines, unable to understand why being “on time” mattered so deeply to her. It was only when I learned about her past—that she had worked as an engineer in Beijing to ensure the accuracy of national timekeeping—that I began to see her differently. I realized her strictness was not a constraint, but a form of care, forged from the responsibility she once shouldered for millions of unseen people.

Through The Timekeeper, I wanted to explore how love can be expressed in unexpected forms—through discipline, routine, and responsibility—and how those forms can transform into tenderness when understood from a new perspective. The film’s visual language blends the wonder of childhood with surreal symbolic imagery, reflecting the way personal histories can feel both distant and magical when uncovered later in life.

I hope this story encourages audiences to look again at the people who shaped them—to see the hidden stories and quiet devotion that often lie behind their everyday actions.

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Director's Bio:

Chenchen Zhou is a Chinese film director and producer. Her personal films explore the imaginative intersection of childhood perspective and surreal visual storytelling. She currently works as an executive producer at iQIYI, one of China’s largest streaming platforms, where she develops and produces animated series. Zhou earned her MFA in Animation from the University of Southern California. She is the recipient of the ASIFA Animation Forum Scholarship and the USC Annenberg Fellowship. Her short films have been officially selected and showcased at international film festivals.