Critics Week · 46th Edition
The Botanist
ZHI WU XUE JIA
Director
Jing YI
Country
China
Runtime
1 h 36 min
Language
Mandarin Chinese, Kazakh
Premiere
MENA premiere (Middle East and North Africa)
Synopsis
Set in a remote village in Xinjiang, The Botanist follows a young Kazakh boy named Arsin, who finds solace in the company of plants. He soon meets Meiyu, a spirited Han girl whose unpredictable nature reminds him of a rare, otherworldly plant. As their friendship blossoms, it deepens into a delicate, dreamlike allegory that blurs the lines between reality and the enchanting world of botany.
Cast
Jahseleh Yesl, Ren Zihan, Nurdaolet Jalen, Eramazan Sarhet, Jomajan Songhat
Screenplay
Jing Yi
Producers
Shan Zuolong, Qi Ai
About the Director
He was born in 1994 and raised in Xinjiang, is a Beijing Film Academy graduate. His debut feature The Botanist (2025) won the New Horse Award at the Asian Project Market. His shorts screened at over 70 festivals, winning 20+ awards. He co-wrote Displaced (Cannes, Sundance, TIFF) and developed The Odyssey of Joy through Berlinale Script Station and Torino Film Lab.
Screenings