FFFA: The Girl Who Stole Time

Shíjiān Zhī Zǐ (时间之子)

Australian Premiere

“An absolute knock-out of a film.” – Fiction Machine

Rendered in lush CG animation, The Girl Who Stole Time is at once a cat-and-mouse chase film, a love story and a meditation on resilience.

Qian Xiao is a young girl from a fishing village whose life fractures the moment she encounters the Time Dial, a mysterious pendant that’s power is intoxicating and exquisite in its cruelty.

Pursued by the criminal organisation determined to reclaim the Dial, she finds an unlikely protector in Seventeen, one of their own operatives. What begins in distrust becomes something neither of them can name. It all leads to Qian Xiao being faced with a question that cuts to the heart of everything the film has been asking: what would you do with stolen time, if you only had a little left?

At its core, The Girl Who Stole Time is a powerful, transcendent story about a young woman who refuses to be defined by what she has lost, choosing instead to be shaped by what she dares to reach for.

Festival Appearances & Awards
Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025 – Official Selection
Fantasia International Film Festival 2025 – Official Selection, Animation Plus

Rating

Unclassified 18+

Duration

107 min

Country

China

Language

Mandarin (English subtitles)

Cast

Wang Junkai, Liu Xiaoyu, Zhou Shen, Huang Bo, Jia Bing, Ma Dong

Director

Yu Ao,Zhou Tienan