A girl moves around a Chinese restaurant, talking to her working mother in Under the Wave off Little Dragon, a short film from Luo Jian, which is featured at the69th editionof theBFILondon Film Festival(LFF).

The Mandarin-, English- and Welsh-language movie is 14 minutes long and part of an LFF collection of shorts screening under the title Discovering Home.

A Chinese girl growing up in a Welsh fishing village rejects her mothers folklore, until she experiences one magical encounter, reads a synopsis for the film starring Kexin Wang as the young and curious FeiFei. It also features Ah Mui Lau, Jessica Dong, Stevee Davies, Rhys Meredith, Ross Foley, and Lee Mengo. Under the Wave off Little Dragon is one of four Film4 shorts at the LFF and was supported and funded by Future Takes, a joint initiative from the BFI andChannel 4s Film4, whose creative and production executives support each film through its entire lifecycle.Once completed, the films are screened at a showcase, after which they become available for streaming on Channel 4 platforms and the BFI Player.

Jian talked to THR about bringing some of her experiences to the screen, the young standout in the lead role, and what may be next for her.

How did you come up with the idea for this film, and how much did your personal experiences drive it?

Three years ago, when I first moved from the U.S. to the U.K., I was feeling quite lonely. I also moved at a horrible time for the U.K., in January, when its really dark. I was not used to that. I moved to London from New York, but I went to Wales on a family trip with my partner, who is half Welsh. And when I was in Wales, I felt much better. It kind of reminded me of my hometown lots of sheep, lots of grass. I grew up in the greener part of the Gobi Desert in China. So its very, very green, even though its bordering the desert. Maybe I was missing home too much. But I saw hints of China everywhere in Wales.

What else did you notice beyond the green landscapes?

I saw little statues, Welsh red dragon statues, on peoples walls. And I was having this joking argument with my boyfriend, telling him that this was the Chinese dragon. And he was like: Oh, no, its the Welsh dragon. Weve had that longer.

How did you find your charismatic young star?

When we met her, I think she was seven. Shes really young. We found her through casting. We had this amazing casting director, and she managed to find lots of kids without any experience. The girl we ended up casting as FeiFei has no experience and came with her mother. Most of the kids did, and from the beginning of the casting process, we were paying attention to how they interacted with their family. Because I always want to use real people. In the back of my head, Im thinking: I dont know how the rules work in the U.K., but if its in China, I would always cast a person and ask them to bring people they know into the film so theres a more natural interaction.

When she came in, she was so serious about herself. I dont see that in other kids. Later on, after getting to know her more, I realized thats just her way to overcome being nervous. She pretends shes uptight. But theres something really charming about that way of carrying yourself so seriously as a kid, and her mom, who helped to improvise some scenes with her, is also fantastic.

They actually also run a restaurant near Heathrow. When we cast them, we didnt know. For some reason, the mom didnt want to tell us. But after we cast them, the mom was like: Actually, we run this restaurant.

So, was the casting quick?

We didnt meet her until the last day of casting.

Luo Jian While watching the movie, I thought about how we find our role, and a certain level of comfort, in the world. Did you start work on the film knowing exactly what themes you wanted to explore?

Actually, the casting gave me a lot of ideas. Before that, the script was written more closely to my experience. It was about a kid whos just come to the U.K., who is sensing the loneliness because she has just arrived.

But after casting someone who was born here as FeiFei she speaks Chinese at home, but her first language is English, so shes very well integrated I started changing the script based on her and her mom. Thats usually how I work. I find it more fun for myself to get to know this person. Through improvisation, we mapped out a different theme. So, it became about a second-generation [kid] rather than a first-generation immigrant.

But FeiFeis mother is a first-generation immigrant, which sets up a key dynamic in the film

Yes, you hear stories from your moms hometown because she is a first-generation immigrant. Someone you trust is telling you stories that youve never experienced. So, I became more interested in what FeiFeis relationship is with this culture thats not her firsthand culture.

The film features the fish and the dragon. Is there symbolism in those in Chinese culture, similar to how in Western cultures, fish sometimes have religious connotations?

I dont know enough about Chinese religion, but there are stories about fish in Buddhist scriptures. Its one of those things that has many symbolic meanings wrapped around it. You just see it everywhere in Chinese lives. And you hear stories constantly about how fish equals dragon, because if youre a fish that swims fast enough and jumps high enough, you can become a dragon. Dragon is basically fish 2.0, and its one of these cautionary tales that teach you to strive for a better life.

But you dont need such stories

I dont believe in tales like this. I dont gain strength from them. Thats why, in the story, you see the mom telling this fish and dragon story to FeiFei, but she doesnt believe it either. Maybe shes curious about it, though.

Do you have any idea or plan for what you will be doing next?

I have a couple of feature Ideas brewing, but it always takes me a long time to go from one to the next. Im not a fast writer.

For more LFF 2025 shorts coverage, check out:

Aidan Gillen Is a 1980s Pop Star Facing a Moral Dilemma in Kathryn Fergusons Nostalgie

and

Sheep and Mob Mentality: Flock Writer-Director Mac Nixon Wants to Reframe Welsh Identity on Screen

and

Magid / Zafar Writer-Director Lus Hindman Sets the Beat to Explore South Asian Masculinity