The Coin (硬币) – Siqi Song’s Touching Stop-Motion Story of Belonging
In her tender and beautifully crafted short film The Coin, Chinese-born director Siqi Song transforms a simple family tradition into a profound meditation on identity, migration, and memory. The seven-minute stop-motion film, created with delicate felt and wool textures, explores how the smallest rituals can tether us to home—no matter how far we travel.
The story follows a young woman preparing to move from China to the United States. As she packs, she remembers her mother’s dumpling-making ritual during Lunar New Year, when one lucky coin was hidden inside a dumpling. Whoever found it would be blessed with prosperity for the coming year. When the young woman misplaces her cherished jar of coins—the keepsakes she’s saved since childhood—her sense of loss mirrors the deeper ache of leaving her homeland behind.
Through its handcrafted characters and tactile settings, The Coin evokes both the warmth of nostalgia and the loneliness of disconnection. Song’s choice to animate with felt gives the film an emotional softness, while subtle 2D facial animation adds expression and nuance. The story unfolds wordlessly, using sound design, gesture, and texture to convey the universal language of longing.
Produced as a follow-up to Song’s Oscar-nominated short Sister (2018), The Coin continues her exploration of personal and cultural identity through stop-motion. Song, who studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China and at California Institute of the Arts, based the film on her own experience of moving abroad and rediscovering comfort in food and ritual. “Food is such a strong connection to home,” she has said. “When I first came to the U.S., I missed my mom’s cooking so much that I started to make dumplings. That’s when the idea for The Coin came to me.”
Since its release in 2019, The Coin has resonated deeply with audiences around the world. It has screened at dozens of international festivals, including the Denver Film Festival, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, StopTrik International Animation Festival, and China’s FIRST International Film Festival.
The film has also garnered an impressive list of accolades:
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Best International Animation Short Film – Chilemonos International Animation Festival (Chile)
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Jury Award for Best Short Animation – New Hampshire Film Festival (USA)
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Best Experimental Film – FIRST International Film Festival (China)
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Best Animation Short Film – Chinese Young Generation Film Forum (China)
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Prize for Asia Road – Korea Independent Animation Film Festival (Korea)
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Runner-Up – AT&T Film Awards (USA)
Beyond its awards, the short has found a lasting place in the hearts of viewers who see themselves in its quiet story of cultural continuity. Through its symbolic “lucky coin,” Song bridges East and West, memory and present, childhood and adulthood.
The Coin reminds us that identity is not something we lose when we move—it’s something we carry within us, often hidden in the small, familiar gestures that shape our sense of home.
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