Charles Xiuzhi Dong's AFTER CLASS Shares The Struggles Of A Poverty-Stricken Single Parent

Director Charles Xiuzhi Dong's topical live-action short film tells the universal story of a mother who is willing to do whatever it takes to help her child. Having only recently begun its festival run the film has just been awarded the top Oscar Qualifying prize at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia, in Japan.

Eight-year-old Su Min and her mother reside in the slum of a metropolis in China, making ends meet by cleaning toilets and picking garbage. Su Min dreams to go to school someday. Marginalized by the school registration system, her mother tries to send her daughter to school at any cost.

The film's award-winning Chinese director Charles Xiuzhi Dong is based in Los Angeles. He received a BFA at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and was recently accepted to the American Film Institute's directing fellowship. His short films AFTER CLASS and COOKIE HEART screened at numerous high profile international film festivals. His feature documentary debut, AN ANSHAN STORY, follows the investigation of his family saga, post-Chinese cultural revolution history.

Producer Branton Choi is an independent producer based in Los Angeles. He founded Chalice Films and has produced award-winning short films including AFTER CLASS which was officially selected for Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Tehran International Short Film Festival. His previous short RED BEAN SOUP garnered first place at the Wasserman and King Awards. Branton's production company also has a long-term commercial production deal with TikTok. He currently works at the physical production department at the Russo Brother's AGBO Films.

Executive Producer Brenden Hubbard is an award-winning filmmaker, director, and producer. He has managed productions and festival runs for various films since 2012, including the 2013 Academy Award-winning film CURFEW, as well as the subsequent feature, BEFORE I DISAPPEAR (IFC Films). He has since been involved with over 60 productions including the winner of the 2015 Sundance Jury Award, OH LUCY!, CUL-DE-SAC (2016 Toronto International Film Festival), THE VANISHING OF SIDNEY HALL (A24, 2017 Sundance Film Festival) and his directing debut THE HELPING HAND which screened at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and is distributed through Dust.

Stefan Nachmann is a German-born Director of Photography, he most recently won the Grand Jury Prize for "Best Cinematography" at IFFNY for his work on 'COOKIE HEART', a 16-Minute One Take Film. Another short film he shot, AZIZ, based on a true story, was a semifinalist for the Student Academy Awards of 2019.

AFTER CLASS has also been selected to screen at the upcoming Tehran International Short Film Festival in October.