“Mr. Hu” is a portrait-film, an homage to a man, a story about a life like many others. Due to the conflicts in the Middle East, the collapsing economies and the fluctuating oil prices, Mr. Hu immigrated from Hong Kong to The Netherlands. In the following decades, forced to run and hide because of his illegal status, in conflict with the foreign political regimes, he makes some money by fixing clocks, by caving (a traditional Chinese art craft) and by painting. Now, when he looks back on his life, he says, “I am a man with no roots, therefore I like to paint trees”.
His loneliness and desire of some sense of belonging is reflected in his art. Unfortunately his family, his wife and his kids don’t accept his artistry as a respectable way of making a living. History, just like the present, is still cruel, complex and unforgiving. The US-China trade war is causing more and more danger in the world. Will there be a new immigration wave?"

Director Biography

Louis Hothothot (Louis Yi Liu) is a young film and video artist, and winner of the 3 Package Deal Young Talent 2018-2019 prize in Amsterdam. Louis was born and grew up in China. He studied graphic design, animation and video art at the China Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing. He enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program at the Dutch Art Institute in 2012. Between 2015 and 2017, Louis studied at the Netherlands Film Academy in the Master of Film program. He works as a multimedia artist combining video art, performance and graphic design. His research deals with the subject of memory, identity, emotion and pain.