“One of the most self-assured, stunningly composed and remarkably inventive debut features ever made…a blistering commentary on systemic sexism” – Rough Cut

This highly stylized and expertly crafted stop-motion horror mind-bender depicts a male-dominated authoritarian world where females are kept only for breeding purposes. The twist? Everyone, male and female, is a shoe. Women are depicted as high heels containing spindly vines, while the males are black loafers with sharp teeth. In this forbidding realm, a mother shoe survives and protects her baby by disguising herself as a male. Told without dialogue, this labor of love from Chinese-born animator Shengwei Zhou was six years in the making and serves as a tribute to the director’s mother, who faced sexist abuse working in the male-dominated construction industry. Drawing comparisons to everything from the Quay Brothers to Suzann Pitt, Zhou’s film is defiantly its own beast.

Please stick around after the film for a virtual Q&A with director Shengwei Zhou. We’re told this screening could even play a part in helping Shengwei achieve tenure!

“[I]t’s hard to think of a stop-motion work more affecting, disturbing, and downright hallucinogenic as Zhou Shengwei‘s SHe” – The Spool

“Even if it weren’t as superbly crafted as it is, “SHe” would still command a certain fascination simply for being such an out-there conceptual oddity that managed to surmount myriad challenges to be fully realized. It’s rare for something this conceptually bizarre (not to mention commercially dubious) to also be so skillful.” – Variety

“This inventive film is unlike anything that you have ever seen before.” – Bubbleblabber

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.