# Eternal Spring (film)

Eternal Spring (Chinese: 长春) is a 2022 Canadian adult animated documentary film written, directed and co-produced by Jason Loftus. Based around the animation of Chinese artist Daxiong, the film centres on Falun Gong's 2002 hijacking of broadcast television stations in Changchun, and China's continued repression of ethnic and religious minority groups.
The film premiered at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival on March 15, 2022. It was subsequently screened at the 2022 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, where it was named the overall winner of the Hot Docs Audience Award for most popular film in the festival, and the first-place winner of the Rogers Audience Award for the most popular Canadian film.
In August 2022, the film was announced as Canada's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. It was the first documentary film and the first animated film ever submitted by Canada, and only the fourth time since 1971 that a film was selected in a language other than French. On November 9, 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially deemed the film eligible for consideration in the Best Animated Feature category.

## Reception
### Favorable reception

Carlos Aguilar of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "distinctively incisive on an emotional level," noting that it "applauds the bravery of its participants to relive a painful shared trauma and create a permanent testament of what they endured." He wrote: "The most inspired among the many animated passages into the past is one that materializes Daxiong’s childhood memories of winter in his hometown of Changchun City, where Falun Gong originated and the epicenter of the repression. For a moment, he invites us to witness a period before the horrors of torture and incarceration tainted his memories of his home. Loftus’ foresight to include the behind-the-scenes process as part of the story — we see Daxiong working with the animation team and engaging in casual chats with the other subjects — also reinforces the direct link between creator and creation."
Cath Clarke of The Guardian rated Eternal Spring 4 out of 5, describing it as a "painful, important film, made more urgent in light of China’s tightening of religious freedoms and human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims."
Chris Knight of the National Post called the film a "moving tour de force, which deserves to be widely seen" and rated it 5 out of 5.
In a review for The Globe and Mail, Amil Niazi wrote: "From the very first scenes of the Canadian documentary Eternal Spring, you’re thrust into a thrilling, all-consuming film that challenges traditional documentary tropes and finds a way to tell a winding, difficult story with brilliant ease." She concluded: "Watching these painful, shared memories come to life, seeing up close as the few who made it out are able to pay homage to those who didn’t, it’s hard not to think of all those who continue to be punished for practising their beliefs in China, from the Falun Gong practitioners to the Uyghur Muslims. Perhaps a film like this can illuminate what is lost in shadow, much like the hijackers did on that night in 2002. Either way, their message is being rebroadcast in the loudest possible way with Eternal Spring."

### Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 33 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "More impressive in form than function, Eternal Spring offers a periodically gripping mixed-media account of a pivotal moment in modern Chinese history". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Awards and nominations

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Zurich Film Festival | October 2, 2022 | Best International Documentary Film | Eternal Spring | Nominated |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | February 13, 2023 | Best Canadian Film | Eternal Spring | Nominated |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | February 13, 2023 | Best Canadian Documentary | Eternal Spring | Won |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | February 13, 2023 | Best Director of a Canadian Film | Jason Loftus | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 25, 2023 | Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Jason Loftus | Nominated |