Jet Lag in Summer

Writer-director Yan Kunao plays Pingu, a first-time filmmaker trying to shoot his thesis feature in New York, opposite Chen Shuyao as Jiaqi, an aspiring production designer whose stalled job search pushes her toward a return to China. Then the pandemic closes the route home: her connecting flight is canceled, leaving her stranded in Los Angeles while Pingu stays behind in New York with his film, his crew, and his wavering sense of purpose. The film’s comedy lives in the embarrassments of young auteurs, borrowed confidence, and half-formed projects; its ache comes from a romance stretched across closed borders, bad reception, and time zones. Made on a shoestring budget, loose in form, and improvisational, Yan’s sly debut catches a generation trained to leave, then stranded between ambition and home.