The Rib of the Greater Bay Area

Zhou Tao · 2026 · 70 minutes

Fragmented coastal scenes scattered across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: a security guard on duty at a Shenzhen beach, children playing in the shallows beneath a bridge, among others.

Program note coming soon.

Zhou Tao is a Guangzhou-based filmmaker and artist who studied oil painting and mixed media at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. He draws his material from the places and communities he encounters, building films from accumulated moments of subtle, often humorous interaction. Although he shoots only real scenes, his work blurs the line between fact and fiction, and he treats the camera less as a medium than as a way of living. His films have screened at the Berlinale, Locarno, Rotterdam, the New York Film Festival, and MoMA’s Doc Fortnight. He has also exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim. His honors include recognition from Cinéma du Réel (2024, 2026), DocumentaMadrid, and Oberhausen.