GAN (2025)
Director Ruonan Jiang
Genre Documentary
Location Sichuan, Beijing
Language Mandarin
Running time 100 minutes
Stage of production post production
Country of production China, France
Year 2025
LOGLINE
Once a lonely left-behind child in China’s Sichuan Mountains, Mingdong Gan is now a devoted father and local ranger. As he rescues an orphaned baby takin, their fragile bond reflects his own search for love and connection.
SYNOPSIS
In the remote Sichuan Mountains of China, ranger Mingdong Gan dedicates his life to protecting endangered wildlife. But beneath his rugged exterior lies a past shaped by loss. Left behind as a child when his parents migrated for work, he was raised in the mountains by his grandparents. Now a father, he is determined to break the cycle of separation and give his children the love and stability he never had.
When Gan rescues an orphaned baby takin, their growing bond becomes a reflection of his own struggles with fatherhood. As the takin matures and must be relocated far from humans, the scientific officer challenges his decision to intervene. he now confronts an ethical dilemma that forces him to reckon with his own history—is rescuing a wild animal an act of care, or is it interference? At home, the weight of his past lingers as he wrestles with the balance between work and family, often becoming harsh with his children. To move forward, he must redefine his role—both as a protector of nature and as a father.
DIRECTOR — Ruonan Jiang
Ruonan Jiang is a fiction and non-fiction filmmaker based in New York and China. She earned her BFA from NYU's Film & TV and her MA from NYU's News & Documentary Program. Her work delves into the intricate relationships between individuals and the environment, highlighting the intersections of humanity and nature.
Her produced short narrative film, Playground (2023), has been officially selected by LA Shorts and the Osaka Asian Film Festival. She is also a co-producer of the documentary Lady Lion (2025), which has received funding from the CCDF-CNEX and The Women’s Film Fund of the China Film Foundation.