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Floating Melon

A night of passion turns into a macabre game
as the truth begins to surface with each return.

Floating Melon film poster, LGBTQ+ drama short from the Invisible Chengdu trilogy directed by Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi
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Technical details | Floating Melon | Short film

Original title: 浮果 | Fu Guo
Spanish title: Sandía amarga
International title: Floating Melon
Directed / Written by: Roberto F. Canuto, Xu Xiaoxi
Produced by: Leng Zhiwen
Cinematography: Guo Yong
Music by: Andrea Centazzo
Cast: Vincent Chen Xi, Celia Yu Yinmeng, Wen Sirui, Xu Xu, Ariel Pei Zimu, Li Wen, Maggie Xue Zhu
 China, Spain  2015  19 min  color

 Chinese (Southwestern Mandarin)  English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Chinese

 fiction, drama  LGBTQ+, human rights, mystery

 DCP · DCI HD · 1.85:1 · 2.0
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Synopsis

On a day of passion turned nightmare, Xiao Cheng, a young man from Chengdu, is confronted with a devastating reality after breaking the law. When his lover, a married man, dies from a drug overdose, fear drives him to seek help from his friend Fiona and his girlfriend Lola.

Caught between panic, guilt, and mistrust, the three friends must decide how far they are willing to go to conceal the truth—until nothing turns out as they expected. In a place where everything can be false, anything can happen.

Commentary

Floating Melon (2015) (Sandía amarga / Fu Guo) is a Chinese–Spanish short film by filmmakers Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi, known for their poetic and socially engaged cinema.

The film is the second chapter of the Invisible Chengdu trilogy, a series of stories set in Sichuan and spoken in the Sichuanese dialect, portraying hidden lives within Chengdu’s urban underworld.

Through its raw realism and intimate perspective, Floating Melon reflects the confusion of a generation searching for moral direction within a society governed by appearances and repression. The film exposes the invisibility of the LGBTQ+ community in China—not always openly persecuted, but often forced into silence by family pressure and a lack of protection—and highlights the fragility of identity and the danger of fear in a culture where silence becomes a means of survival.

Watch Floating Melon on Vimeo On Demand

Watch Floating Melon on Vimeo On Demand

Festivals & Awards

Selected in numerous international film festivals, Floating Melon has screened across Europe, Latin America and Asia, including major LGBTQ+ and independent film platforms. The film received several awards, including the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Avilés Acción Film Festival.
Selected in numerous international film festivals, Floating Melon has screened across Europe, Latin America and Asia, including major LGBTQ+ and independent film platforms. The film received several awards, including the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Avilés Acción Film Festival.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS (PDF)

Floating Melon Gallery

Kwan Ming (Xu Xu) lying naked in bed – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen), Lola Liu (Celia Yinmeng Yu) and Fiona Wu (Sirui Wen) walking away down the street – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen) talking with Fiona Wu (Sirui Wen) at night – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen) talking with Fiona Wu (Sirui Wen), side medium shot, seated on the street at night – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen) sitting naked on the bed while smoking – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen) hiding inside a barrel – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen), Lola Liu (Celia Yinmeng Yu) and Fiona Wu (Sirui Wen) walking upstairs at night – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen), close-up smoking in backlight – Floating Melon (2015)
People exercising in the streets of Chengdu, seen from a window – Floating Melon (2015)
Kwan Ming (Xu Xu), medium shot lying motionless in bed – Floating Melon (2015)
Xiao Cheng (Vincent Xi Chen), Lola Liu (Celia Yinmeng Yu) and Fiona Wu (Sirui Wen) talking in front of a building at night – Floating Melon (2015)

Floating Melon, original title Fu Guo and Spanish title Sandía amarga, is a 2015 Chinese-Spanish short film directed by Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi.

The film is spoken in Chinese, specifically Southwestern Mandarin, has a running time of 19 minutes, and combines fiction, drama, mystery, LGBTQ+ themes and human rights concerns.

Floating Melon is part of the Invisible Chengdu trilogy, portraying hidden lives and emotional conflicts within Chengdu’s urban underworld through an independent and auteur cinematic approach.

The film features music by Andrea Centazzo and explores fear, guilt, desire and moral confusion after a night of passion turns into a nightmare.

Selected in numerous international film festivals, Floating Melon has screened across Europe, Latin America and Asia, including major LGBTQ+ and independent film platforms. The film received several awards, including the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Avilés Acción Film Festival.

Festival selections:
53rd FICX Xixón/Gijón International Film Festival, Día d’Asturies Section (Spain, 2015)
19th Roze Filmdagen, Amsterdam LGBT Film Festival, Official Section (Netherlands, 2016)
16th KQFF, Korea Queer Film Festival, Official Section (South Korea, 2016)
21st LesGaiCineMad, Madrid International LGTB Film Festival, Official Section (Spain, 2016)
24th Mix Brasil, Festival of Culture & Sexual Diversity, Official Section (Brazil, 2016)
10th For Rainbow, Film Festival of Sexual Diversity, Official Section (Brazil, 2016)
17th Mezipatra International Queer Film Festival, Official Section (Czech Republic, 2016)
7th D’un Bord à l’Autre, International LGBT Film Festival of Orleans, Official Section (France, 2016)
2nd Scottish Queer International Film Festival, Official Section (United Kingdom, 2016)
18th Flimmer Film Festival, Official Section (Sweden, 2016)
16th Sant Joan d’Alacant Film Festival, Official Section (Spain, 2016)
2nd Harmless Hugs, Delhi International Queer Theater and Film Festival, Official Section (India, 2015)
13th Zinegoak, Bilbao International GLT Film Festival, Official Section (Spain, 2016)
12th C The Film at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Showcase (United Kingdom, 2016)
20th La Fila, Valladolid Short Film Festival, Official Section (Spain, 2016)
3rd Short Cup, World Film Festival, Official Section (Brazil, 2016)
3rd Asturias Film Festival of Proaza & Santo Adriano, Official Section (Spain, 2016)
15th Avilés Acción Film Festival, Asturias Section (Spain, 2016)
12th FIFOG, Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève, Official Section (Switzerland, 2017)
7th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, Official Section (India, 2016)
2nd International Boat of Culture Film Festival, Official Section (Poland, 2016)
11th Zinentiendo, Zaragoza International LGTBQI Film Showcase, Showcase (Spain, 2016)
3rd Kreives, Vilnius LGBT Film Festival, Official Section (Lithuania, 2016)
13th OutfestPerú International LGBT Film Festival, Official Section (Peru, 2016)
9th Festival de Cine de Diversidad Sexual y Derechos Humanos de La Paz, Official Section (Bolivia, 2016)
6th Rio Festival of Gender & Sexuality in Cinema, Official Section (Brazil, 2016)
12th LesBiGayTrans, Asunción International Film Festival, Official Section (Paraguay, 2016)
3rd Taratsa International Film Festival, Official Section (Greece, 2016)
21st Portobello Film Festival, Official Section (United Kingdom, 2016)
3rd Human Rights International Film Festival of Bogotá, Official Section (Colombia, 2016)
9th Cine Movilh, International LGBTI Film Festival, Official Section (Chile, 2016)
5th No Gloss International Film Festival, Official Section (United Kingdom, 2016)
7th Queer Film Festival of Oldenburg, Official Section (Germany, 2016)
11th SFG Serile Filmului Gay International Film Festival, Official Section (Romania, 2016)
5th Oftálmica Independent Film Festival, Official Section (Mexico, 2016)
12th Andalesgai, International LGBT Film Festival of Andalusia, Official Section (Spain, 2016)
17th CinHomo, Valladolid International LGBT Film Showcase, Showcase (Spain, 2017)
4th CanBeGay, Canary Islands LGBTIQ International Film Festival, Official Section (Spain, 2017)
3rd Queer Film Festival Playa del Carmen, Official Section (Mexico, 2017)
1st Flor Azul International Short Film Festival, Official Section (Argentina, 2016)
Love is Love LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Official Section (China, 2022)
Shujingtang Alley Art Space, Chengdu, Showcase (China, 2016)
LABOCINE Experimental Film Platform, FRUITOPIA July Issue, Official Selection (International, 2025)

Floating Melon is available to rent or purchase on Vimeo On Demand at https://almostredprod.vhx.tv/products/floating-melon-2015.

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