HYENA
by Altay Ulan Yang

21min | USA/China | 2025

In an isolated castle, students prepare for a life-changing examination. As anticipation builds to a fever pitch, a storm strikes. Trapped within crumbling walls, their academic sanctuary becomes a prison, and minds begin to break.
​
​Year of production 2025
Length 21'
Country USA/China
Shooting Format Digital
Aspect Ratio 1.5:1 in FLAT
Dialogue Mandarin

Director Altay Ulan Yang
Producers Altay Ulan Yang, Edyta Yutong Deng
Production Company X99 Films
Executive Producer Altay Ulan Yang
​Writer Altay Ulan Yang
Cinematographers Hu Yinghai, Fang Jiacheng
Editors Zhang Zhongchen, Altay Ulan Yang
First Assistant Director Hou Tianyu
Production Designer Zhou Guanghan
Art Director Sun Shangzhe
Costume Designer Gao Yueer
Hair&Makeup Designer Chen Jiaxin
Sound Designers Dong Borui, Zhen Cheng
Original Music by Chen Ruotong
Sound Mixer Dong Borui
Colorist, Finishing & VFX Li Leyou
Cast Huo Zhengjie, Hou Tianyu, Altay Ulan Yang, Chen Yanchen, Panlin Jingyi, Huo Boyuan, Dang Tongfang, Chen Xin, Jiang Rihua , Zhou Siyu, Wang Zhihua, Qu Yizhen

Festival selections
Locarno Film Festival 2025, Switzerland - World Premiere, Pardino d’Oro for the Best International Short Film
Tirana International Film Festival​ 2025, Albania
​​Film Fest Gent 2025, Belgium
​Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2025, Canada
​El Gouna Film Festival 2025, Egypt
​​Uppsala Short Film Festival 2025,  Sweden
​Festival International du Film d'Amiens 2025, France
​Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2025, Indonesia -Jury Special Mention
​NOWNESS Short Film Awards 2025, China - Jury Award
​Batumi International Art-House Film Festival 2025, Georgia
Vilnius Short Film Festival 2026, Lithuania 
​Flickerfest International Short Film Festival 2026, Australia
​Tampere Film Festival 2026, Finland
​​Pragueshorts Film Festival 2026, Czech Republic
​Landshut Short Film Festival 2026, Germany
​Glasgow Short Film Festival 2026, UK
​​KINO Athens - Independent Film Festival of Athens​ 2026, Greece
International Filmfest Bremen 2026, Germany
​Festival Internacional de Cine Shorts Costa Rica 2026 - Special Mention (International Short Films Competition) and Audience Award
Festival Internacional de Cine de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2026, Spain
​Seattle International Film Festival 2026, USA
FANTBilbao - Festival De Cine Fantástico De Bilbao 2026, Spain - Jury Prize
Golden Ger International Film Festival 2026, Mongolia
Le Cri du Court 2026, France - High School Compettion Prize
​Vienna Shorts 2026, Austria
​Golden Grape International Short Film Festival 2026, Georgia - Best Short Fiction Film Award
Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival 2026, Hungary
​​SXSW London 2026, UK
​​Kino Otok International Film Festival 2026, Slovenia
​Palm Springs International ShortFest 2026, USA
​
Director's Statement
This story was born from my reality at sixteen.
In the art studio where I studied, violence unfolded daily--
I existed as both perpetrator and victim. I hold no interest
in bullying as a mere topic; I am captivated by the primal emotions that erupt from within us and their aesthetic possibility. When I return to these memories, they appear
in black—childhood pain and terror magnified into distortion. The entire studio transforms into a shadowed castle in my mind. So our crew discovered an actual castle and reshaped
it into a studio. Cinematically, we embraced early expressionism, allowing the imagery to evolve from structured light into illogical madness as the narrative deepens. In the film, I've crafted a sealed world. This isolation is crucial—the closed environment allows the group to form its own system of judgment, where all believe the victim deserves their fate.
For me, this creates a profound cinematic moment: a collective performing a tear-evoking sacrificial ritual to forge their communion. Violence often emerges during the formation
of social units, when individuals exist in chaos before becoming a group. A common enemy stabilizes their bonds.
The ritual begins with a raised hand, and everything spirals toward extremity. I wanted everything in this film to reach extremity. I sought to trace these ancient emotions—this frenzy. People gradually transform in distorted, closed societies, unleashing an irresistible fever.
The boys reach their climax during that rainy night, yet their pressure doesn't stem from the victim. This is merely release—tremendous group pressure demands an outlet. If it was not
90 – the student, there would be 80 or 85. I am drawn to
this inescapable randomness. This frenzied sacrifice stands
as a powerful metaphor for the absurdities we've witnessed in the past years. Finally, I believe violence possesses beauty.
In the film's final five minutes, I simply witness violence as
​ it unfolds, regardless of how sordid or contemptible it appears.

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