Liu aspired to become a filmmaker as early as high school . As her graduation project at the Beijing Film Academy ( BFA ) , she completed '' Oxhide '' , her full-length feature debut . Liu used digital video and a series of long takes to stage scenes from the life of her family in their cramped Beijing apartment . Her mother and her father — a struggling skilled leather craftsman whose work material gives the film its title — perform their own parts , alongside the 23-year-old director as herself . '' Oxhide '' was screened in 2005 at the Berlin International Film Festival , where it took two prizes , including the FIPRESCI Award in the Forum of New Cinema . It also screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival , where Liu received the Golden DV Award for best digital work , and at the Vancouver International Film Festival , where she received the top Dragons and Tigers Award for East Asian cinema
Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
Liu Jiayin