After the Snowmelt

a film by

Taiwan, Japan | 110' | 04/2024 | documentary

It is a coming-of-age tale where youth grapple with their first profound loss. Filmmaker Yi-Shan’s best friends Chun and Yueh were trapped in a Nepal cave for 47 days. Chun died three days before Yueh's rescue, prompting Yi-Shan to take up the camera and retrace her friends’ footsteps in Nepal. When Yi-Shan reaches the cave, what awaits her there?

“After the Snowmelt is a beautiful, poetic reflection on loss and death, bringing solace not only to its maker but to everyone who mourns the unexpected loss of a loved one. ”
Square Eyes - VdR_Official Selection_2024_B
Square Eyes - Horizontal 1
Square Eyes - Screenshot 2024-10-07 at 10.35.36
“After the Snowmelt is a beautiful, poetic reflection on loss and death, bringing solace not only to its maker but to everyone who mourns the unexpected loss of a loved one. ”
Square Eyes - VdR_Official Selection_2024_B
Square Eyes - Horizontal 1
Square Eyes - Screenshot 2024-10-07 at 10.35.36
Crew Festivals Press materials Press quotes

Yi-Shan LO

Biography

Yi-Shan LO is an independent filmmaker and writer. Since her teenage years, she has been fascinated by the intertwined relationships connecting humans and non-humans in Taiwanese subtropical mountains. Conveying the beauty and complexity of wilderness has motivated her to make films. After the Snowmelt is her debut documentary feature.

Filmography

  • After the Snowmelt (2024, 110’)
Square Eyes -

Crew

Director: Yi-Shan LO
Producer: Yung-Shuang CHEN, Tze-Lan CHO, Yi-Shan LO
Co-producer: Documentary Dream Center: Asako FUJIOKA
Hope Content Marketing Co., Ltd.: Angel Wen CHEN
Image: Yi-Shan LO, Wei-Long TSAI
Sound Design: Yannick DAUBY
Editor: Jessica Wan-Yu LIN

Festivals

  • Visions du Réel, Switzerland (12 – 21 April, 2024)
    Burning Lights Competition
  • Trento Film Festival, Italy (26 April – 5 May, 2024)
    International Competition
  • Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea (1 – 10 May, 2024)
    International Competition
  • Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, Poland (10 – 19 May, 2024)
    First Appearance Competition
  • Frameline San Francisco Int. LGBTQ+ Film Festival, United States (19 – 29 June, 2024)
    Documentary Feature competition
  • Frame[o]ut – Open Air Cinema, Austria (July & August, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • DokuFest, International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kosovo (2 – 10 August, 2024)
    International Documentary Competition
  • EDOC – International Documentary Film Festival, Ecuador (13 – 23 September, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • Ulsan Ulju Mountain Film Festival, South Korea (27 September – 1 October, 2024)
    Asian Competition NETPAC, Mountain section     Won: Main Award (NETPAC) & Youth Jury Award
  • Festival Film Dokumenter, Indonesia (2 – 9 November, 2024)
    International Feature-Length Competition Program Won: Best International Feature-Length
  • Field Recordings, the Netherlands (8 – 10 November, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • ZINEBI – Int. Festival of Documentary and Short Films of Bilbao, Spain (8 – 15 November, 2024)
    First Feature Film International Competition ZIFF
  • Feast Festival, Australia (9 – 24 November, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • Tokyo Filmex, Japan (19 – 24 November, 2024)
    Out of competition
  • Singapore International Film Festival, Singapore (28 November – 8 December, 2024)
    Standpoint
  • Festival Allers-Retours, France (30 January – 8 February, 2025)
    Official Selection
  • Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival, India (6 – 9 February, 2025)
    Documentary Film Competition
  • Mint Chinese Film Festival, United Kingdom (21 – 23 February, 2025)
    C-film in focus, competing for Best Director & Audience Choice Award
  • BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, United Kingdom (19 – 30 March, 2025)
    Official Selection
  • ethnocineca – International Documentary Film Festival Vienna, Austria (8 – 14 May, 2025)
    International Documentary Award Competition
  • Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, Nepal (28 May – 1 June, 2025)
    Official Selection, International Competition Won: Best Feature Documentary
  • What the Doc! International Documentary Film Festival, Thailand (27 – 31 August, 2025)
    International Competition
  • CineEco – Int Environmental Film Festival of Serra da Estrela, Portugal (10 – 18 October, 2025)
    International Feature Film Competition
  • Asian Film Festival Barcelona, Spain (29 October – 9 November, 2025)
    Special Section
  • Women Make Waves International Film Festival, Taiwan (17 – 26 October, 2025)
    Taiwan Competition Won: Grand Prix
  • Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal, Canada (20 – 30 November, 2025)
    Special Focus

Password




Press materials

EPK: Click here

Stills, poster & directors photos: Click here

Dialogue list English, Spanish & original: Click here

Embeddable trailer: Vimeo & Youtube

Downloadable excerpts & trailer: Click here

Press quotes

“After the Snowmelt is profoundly introspective, comfortable in its sense of calm, concealing its own unsettling stratum. Besides the enveloping sense of natural landscapes, unlocking what an equation with them may entail in terms of either plunging more audaciously into life or being tempered, Yi-Shan traces her own internal journey with unerring honesty and hard-eyed appraisal of her emotional upheavals.”
Review: Debanjan Dhar – High on Films

“After the Snowmelt is a beautiful, poetic reflection on loss and death, bringing solace not only to its maker but to everyone who mourns the unexpected loss of a loved one. ”
Review: Nicole Santé – Business Doc Europe

“Ultimately, AFTER THE SNOWMELT transcends its documentary format to reflect on life’s fragile yet resilient nature, this film is a compelling narrative that continues to resonate with viewers, providing both a visual and emotional journey that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the face of impossible odds. It’s a poignant reminder that the human capacity for love and recovery prevails in life and nature’s vast, stark landscapes.”
Review: Chris Jones – Overly Honest Reviews

“a creative step in the grieving process”
Le Temps – Antoine Duplan

home