Time and Tide (Chinese: 光阴) is a 2026 Australian film blending documentary and narrative filmmaking, marking the feature debut of director Vee Shi. Centred on his family's home in China, it follows the aftermath of his father's stroke and its effect on the household. The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Visions du Réel festival, competing in the Burning Lights section, and later received the Documentary Australia Award at the Sydney Film Festival.
Synopsis Time and Tide explores contemporary China through the eyes of a multigenerational family navigating the pressures of familial obligation.
Vee Shi’s father, a once-proud and stubborn patriarch, is in poor health following a stroke. Having always been distant from his family, Shi heads to his remote hometown in Fuqing to make a fiction film. However, as he turns his camera on his family, reality and fiction start to blur, exposing generational pain and regret.
Production Niu Studios produced the film in partnership with Big and Little Films, with Nicholson Ren and Shi credited as producers alongside executive producer Michael McMahon. Shi also served as the film's writer, director and editor; Ren handled cinematography, and composer Luna Pan supplied the score.
Shi travelled to Fujian with Ren in 2023 without a finished script and shot for roughly a month. He described the film's origins as a scripted, family-based drama that at one stage incorporated science-fiction elements before evolving into its current form.
According to comments Shi made to Business Doc Europe, the shift toward documentary technique came after his parents struggled to perform scripted scenes; the crew instead captured more unscripted, everyday moments alongside some remaining scripted material.
Release Following its Burning Lights premiere at Visions du Réel, the film travelled to Australia for a screening at the 73rd Sydney Film Festival. Inwave Films, a Paris-based sales agency, took on international sales rights for the title in July 2026.
Busan International Film Festival selected it for the festival's Wide Angle – Documentary Showcase strand, with a first screening set for 7 October 2026.
Reception Critic Nadine Whitney, reviewing for The Curb, described the film as "a miracle of close documentary filmmaking."
Critic Stephen A. Russell, reviewing for ScreenHub, gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and singled out its unflinching candour and gorgeous cinematography, highlighting its deeply felt emotional resonance and relatable depiction of dealing with ailing parents.
Moviebreak, a German-language film outlet, likewise highlighted the film's emotional candour and its focus on the relationships between family members.
Accolades At the 2026 Sydney Film Festival, the film received the Documentary Australia Award, which carries an A$20,000 cash prize.
References
External links Official website