In 2025, art and technology crossed paths once again. Director Tan Xiaozheng has reunited with Chinese-American musician LEMONTOE (Wentao Liang) to release three experimental AI short films. This collaboration isn’t just about blending music with AI visuals—it’s also a creative reunion almost twenty years in the making.
Back in 2006, Tan’s Dongke E-Magazine featured Liang’s original music. As one of the earliest musicians to collaborate with China’s Flash animation scene, Liang worked with studios like Simiao Animation in Guangzhou, leaving a distinct musical mark on the early days of Chinese online animation. Now, nearly two decades later, the rise of AI filmmaking has brought the two artists back together.
The three new shorts are each built around Liang’s original songs:
- “Take Time for a Vacation”
Set by the ocean, the film tells the story of two people spending their days on the beach, exploring the subtle and often complicated dynamics of human relationships.
- “Working Like a Slave”
This piece follows models and entertainers on hectic shoots, highlighting the exploitative side of the entertainment industry—where harsh contracts often feel like modern-day “slave agreements.”
- “Close Eyes Travel Dream”
A dreamlike journey that revisits memories of drifting through Beijing, blending nostalgia with surreal, almost haunting imagery.
All the characters in these films wear cartoon headpieces. On one hand, this ties back to the characters from Tan’s original comic series Black Rabbit Pink Pig. On the other hand, it smartly avoids the legal risks around using real human likenesses in AI-generated films. The result is a set of works that feel strange, slightly eerie, and uniquely compelling.
Together, the three shorts reflect on society, relationships, and memory, while pushing the boundaries of what music and AI film can create together.
For Tan Xiaozheng and LEMONTOE (Wentao Liang), this collaboration isn’t just a throwback to their connection in 2006—it’s also a sign of the new creative possibilities that technology and art can unlock in 2025.
