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SLAMDANCE ’26: Experimental Short

Title: Ghost of Home (2026) Director: Chen Xie Writer: Chen Xie Studio: Obluda Films IMDb Plot: On the day his grandpa’s spirit was to depart and enter his new home, a young filmmaker began searching for the traces he left behind. Joe Says: Beautifully shot and unapologetically experimental, the result is less a story and more a mood.

Beautifully shot and unapologetically experimental, Ghost of Home drifts between the digital frames. Director Chen Xie layers together eerie fades and thermal imagery to evoke the sensation of a house after loss, specifically following his grandfather’s death. The result is less a story and more a mood. One that lingers and whispers.

Although definitely not horror, Ghost of Home borrows from the haunted house vocabulary, particularly surrounding the need of a ritual. Xie documents the construction and ceremonial burning of a paper home meant to shelter his grandfather’s spirit, intercut with thermal visions of familiar spaces and spectral glances that feel half remembered. The images are striking. 

If the film falters at all, it is only in its transparency of intent. The emotional current is clear from the first flicker, and some viewers may crave a firmer narrative plod. But cohesion may not be the point. This is grief filmed as atmosphere. 

In that sense, Ghost of Home succeeds boldly. This is a striking reminder that cinema can be less about plot and more about presence.

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This review – and much more – is available as part of Cinefied’s Slamdance 2026 coverage

Be sure to catch Ghost of Home – and many other indie projects – over at Slamdance