EXCLUSIVE: Pile On Director Hu Lu Explains Childhood Memory, Human “Animality,” and the Film’s Dark Adult Mirror

Childhood innocence and cruelty exist side by side in Pile On, the 2025 Chinese short film from director Hu Lu. Set in Tiexi District during the 1990s, the story follows 10-year-old Xiaohu, who invites his friends over while his parents attend a wedding banquet. What begins as an afternoon of games and freedom gradually turns into something far darker as the children experiment with the forbidden behaviors they associate with adulthood. For Hu Lu, the story grew out of personal…