The Asian Film Awards Academy is delighted to announce that Ride Your Horse, an award-winning short developed and funded at IFC 2024 and directed by mainland Chinese newcomer SONG Dongxu, has been selected for the Competition of the 19th FIRST International Film Festival in Xining. The film will vie for Best Short Film and other top honours alongside outstanding works from around the globe.

Founded in 2006, FIRST is China’s leading platform for discovering and promoting emerging Chinese-language filmmakers. Its Competition showcases both feature-length and short works distinguished by independence and creative freedom, with ten prizes on offer—including Best Short Film—judged by a jury of Asia’s most respected film professionals.

Set amid Inner Mongolia’s biting winter, Ride Your Horse trails two young men who dream of fleeing their dead-end days for the warmer South. Blending humour with heart, the film offers a vivid portrait of youth torn between leaving and staying, showing how hope and friendship endure even in the harshest cold.