Air Base

Air Base’ refers to a pond in Wuhan, China, where anglers gather but never catch fish. Shot at the end of the pandemic, this hybrid film observes individuals’ strange public behaviours and inner struggles, capturing a time and place where people feel like the anglers at ‘air base’ — or the fish in that pond.

Li Luo: ‘This film was inspired by the experiences of several friends in recent years. One of them became obsessed with angling during the pandemic. He often went fishing at a pond near East Lake in Wuhan. He said the pond was called “Air Base” because it was hard to catch fish there. (“Air” in Chinese means empty.) “Air Force” refers to anglers who catch nothing and return home empty-handed. It seems to me that many people in this city are like the anglers at “Air Base”, or the fish in that pond.’