The story in the evening photo
The century-old photo studio "Wanzhao" on Pingjiang Road in Suzhou hides the secret of fighting against forgetfulness. Shop owner Su Wan guarded the film camera passed down from her grandmother, using developer and fixer to repair the dusty old negatives, witnessing countless separations and regrets. She didn't believe in love, and felt that all her heartbeats would eventually fade away, until one day during the rainy season, she met Chen Yan, the owner of a pen repair shop.
Chen Yan came with his grandfather Chen Jingshan's manuscript and wooden box, revealing the half-life-long friendship between Su Wan's grandfather and his grandfather - one wrote stories with a pen, and the other recorded time with a camera. Although they were thousands of miles apart, they communicated with each other for a lifetime. After three encounters, Chen Yan broke Su Wan's understanding by saying "story is the thread that connects life", and left behind a maroon wooden box when he left.
There was no gold or silver in the box, only a stack of photographic paper linings. Chen Yan used a pen to write down the sixty-two years that never happened between him and Su Wan: from staying together on Pingjiang Road, to searching for roots in Anhui, from black hair to white hair, every detail accurately touched the softness of Su Wan's heart. It turns out that love is never a written ending, but a two-way conspiracy between two people about the story.
Seventy-two-year-old Su Wan took her grandfather's pen and unsent concerns with her and boarded the high-speed train for her appointment. The evening light is still shining and the pen and ink are still dry. This agreement spanning forty-two years will eventually continue to write the most tender chapter in time.
Purpose: Using old photo studios and pen repair shops as carriers, it tells the warm story of two generations using words and images to record their lives and fight against forgetfulness. It interprets love as a two-way story and conveys the awe and cherishment of ordinary life, sincere emotions and the inheritance of time.