ZERO
Directed by Romman
China · 2026 · 13 min 39 sec · Sci-Fi
Submitted to OnShow International Film Festival 2026Synopsis
Ava awakens without memories and is led by an AI nun into a seemingly perfect life. As small inconsistencies reveal that her past and happiness have been designed for her, she pursues a luminous doorway and the right to choose her own future.
About the film
Ava wakes in an open landscape with no memory of who she is. Even her name is given to her by someone else. Inside a Western-style church filled with Buddhist imagery, an AI nun introduces her to a life that appears to belong to her. Family, childhood, love and the promise of happiness unfold around her. Everyone seems certain of a shared past that she cannot remember. Small inconsistencies unsettle this comforting world. When Ava questions its rules and refuses the happiness prepared for her, reassurance becomes coercion. Streets extend, buildings rearrange themselves and gravity loses its order. Pursuing a luminous doorway, she struggles to choose where she goes. ZERO explores whether an existence defined by others can become a life of its own through the insistence on autonomous choice.
Director
Romman is an independent filmmaker based in China. The work explores memory, identity and individual agency through AI-assisted moving images. For ZERO, Romman developed the story, screenplay and shot planning, directed the generation and revision process, and assembled the film through editing.
Publicity materials supplied or expressly authorized by the rights holder. Publication is separate from festival selection.
OnShow International Film Festival — Inaugural Edition · 2026