Synopsis

Two girls (Dian Dian and Cheng Zi) are waiting for their friend Lao Han, who is late for their date because of a romantic engagement. As they wait, they gradually start talking about the past—vague memories of their first love, inexplicable confessions, hesitant crushes, and unrequited love with no resolution...

Festivals & Awards

2025 7th HiShorts! Film Festival- Animation Section

2025 25th Beijing Film Academy Animation Awards

Scriptwriter(s)

Yiru Wang, Jundan Wang

Producer(s)

Yamamura Kojia

Executive Producer(s)

Yiru Wang, Junwen Wu

Key Casts

Curators’ note

While waiting for a friend over dinner, two girls drift into conversation and memory. They chat about boys they once liked at school—fleeting or unresolved affections recalled casually as the dialogue flows. Through the interplay of the girls’ movements and fragments of remembered scenes, the animation gently brings to light emotional traces of youth that were never named, yet deeply felt. (Linling Chen, edited by Xiyun Li)

Director’s Statement

The short film "When Will Lao Han Arrive?" was created to mark the end of student days. Looking back on a youth spent studying nonstop, my friends and I couldn’t help feeling uneasy: was my youth really this dull? Was it ending before anything had happened? There must be something that truly deserves the name “youth”… So I made this short as a remembrance, hoping viewers will watch it, smile in recognition, and recall their own bygone days.