Black Dog

An ex-con is sent to catch stray dogs in the Gobi Desert in Guan Hu’s picturesque Cannes prize-winner.

On the edge of the Gobi Desert in Northwest China, Lang (Eddie Peng) returns to his hometown after being released from jail. While working for the local stray dog patrol team, clearing the town before the 2008 Olympic Games, he strikes up an unlikely connection with a black dog. The two lonely souls embarking on a new journey together.

Winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, director Guan Hu, along with cinematographer Gao Weizhe, employ stunning, sweeping wide shots evoking the vastness of nature, while intricately weaving in the historical context of 2008, a year defined by the pre-Beijing Olympics campaign to clear stray dogs and extensive housing relocations.