Incredible artwork and heart-touching testimony come together like never before in this four-part series of digital comic books featuring original art from acclaimed Chinese illustrator Daxiong (Star Wars, Justice League comics). As detailed in the award-winning film, Daxiong himself suffered under the persecution before being forced to flee from his hometown in Northeast China. These comics take readers inside the story and give new insight into the circumstances surrounding his harrowing journey.
1. THE CRACKDOWN: Changchun is plunged into martial law as police blanket the city in search of participants in a bold hijacking of the state TV signal. Artist Daxiong knows what awaits those who dare to speak up, but he’s caught up in the terror.
2. NO ESCAPE: When danger forces Daxiong to flee from Changchun, conflicting memories consume him. A fairytale world in his childhood and a seemingly inescapable prison of fear fuel his riveting escape from home.
3. THE HEIST: Who was behind the perilous effort to momentarily break the party’s hold on the TV airwaves? We meet a band of underdogs, some made homeless by persecution, who decide the only way to ease the repression they face is through a bold plot to take over the airwaves themselves.
4. WINTER’S BLOOM: A secret is discovered. The cops close in. A surprise arrest. The team risks it all to get their message on the air. Will it be enough? Will it all be worth it?
This digital comic features new original music and sound, a new story by the Pearman Brothers, and narration by Jesse LaChappelle–a fresh take on key parts of the Eternal Spring film!
ABOUT THE FILM ETERNAL SPRING
Described as “essential” by The Globe and Mail and as “the most surprising documentary of the year” by Forbes, Eternal Spring is an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost. Facing denunciations of their banned faith in the Chinese state media, an engineer named Liang and a hulking grain worker called “Big Truck” execute a bold and perilous plan to hack into state television.
In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and Daxiong is forced to flee. He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening a violent repression.
But his views about the TV hijacking are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, now living in Seoul. Daxiong uses his art to retrace the event–bringing to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an inspiring tale of determination to speak up in the face of injustice.
Eternal Spring has earned 26 honors at international awards and film festivals–including both major audience prizes at Hot Docs and the audience award at Thessaloniki in 2022. It was named Canada’s Official Submission to the 95th Academy Awards® in the Best International Feature Film category. It was nominated at both the 50th Annie Awards and 38th IDA Documentary Awards, won the Banff World Media Festival’s Grand Jury Prize Rockie Award, won the Best Director award at the SIMA Awards for social impact, and was named Best Canadian Documentary of the year by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. It was nominated for the year’s Best Cinema Documentary by the Grierson Trust UK Documentary Awards.
LA TIMES: “Distinctively incisive on an emotional level, the film applauds the bravery of its participants to relive a painful shared trauma and create a permanent testament of what they endured.”
GUARDIAN: “A painful, important film.”
VARIETY: “Dizzyingly superb…powerfully moving.”
GLOBE AND MAIL: “essential…a thrilling, all-consuming film.” (CRITIC’S PICK)
SCREEN DAILY: “Vivid animation…the gritty texture of a graphic novel…pulse-pounding.”
NATIONAL POST: “[An] original, moving tour de force.” (FIVE STARS)
Named one of the year’s top-ten documentaries by POV Magazine, SlashFilm, The A.V. Club and more! Find out more: EternalSpringFilm.com