The stress, the noise, the disconnection — when people talk about cities nowadays, its negative aspects are often emphasized. There's a growing desire to escape and retreat into some countryside idyll, but director Li Yu pushes back against this romanticized idea of "escaping "urban life for a pastoral utopia.

"From the bottom of my heart, I don't believe that's the answer," he says.

One evening, Li stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of a theater, looking out at an office building. As the lights inside were twinkling, the signs outside glowed, cars moved steadily along the road, and small restaurants lined the street.