“Born in Riverside Town” is a personal documentary that intertwines cultural displacement with personal loss. Through my grandfather, a village tailor, I reconnected with the Tujia people—an indigenous group struggling with forced relocation, unemployment, and alcoholism. I met individuals like Han, a deaf and mute Lock Smith, and Weiyi, an elderly battling addiction. Their struggles mirrored my own journey as I confronted an unplanned pregnancy and documented my abortion. This film captures the intersection of identity, resilience, and grief, weaving together the Tujia people’s fight for cultural survival with my own search for belonging in a world shaped by loss.