
Empty Canvas 2022
In Jiayang Liu's tightly wound thriller Empty Canvas (2022), a social-media darling finds himself torn from his carefully curated online life and dropped into the sun-scorched solitude of a desert.
Director: Jiayang Liu
Cast

Frequently Asked Questions
What is Empty Canvas (2022) about?
A social-media star is kidnapped and forced to create a viral video in the desert. While waiting, he reconnects with his absent father through the art of Chinese calligraphy, turning a moment of captivity into a quiet act of rebellion and remembrance.
Who directed Empty Canvas?
Jiayang Liu directed the short film, blending thriller tension with poetic visuals.
Who stars in Empty Canvas?
Lourd Asprec headlines the cast alongside Yixin Zhang, Connor Trujillo, Payton Gibson, Koren Anderson, and Cetan Wise.
Is Empty Canvas (2022) worth watching?
If you enjoy compact thrillers with emotional depth, Empty Canvas (2022) delivers a punchy, atmospheric ride. Its unique blend of kidnapping suspense and calligraphic introspection makes it a memorable short film worth checking out.
How long is Empty Canvas?
Empty Canvas runs for 11 minutes.
🎥 Trailer
Empty Canvas (2022): A Kidnapped Influencer's Calligraphic Journey — Full Movie Info
In Jiayang Liu's tightly wound thriller Empty Canvas (2022), a social-media darling finds himself torn from his carefully curated online life and dropped into the sun-scorched solitude of a desert. Held captive, he's ordered to film a sensational clip for a viral audience, but instead of performing, he turns to an unexpected lifeline—an old set of Chinese calligraphy brushes left behind by his estranged father. As ink bleeds across paper under the relentless sun, the captive begins to rewrite more than just characters; he rediscovers fragments of the bond he once severed, all while the kidnappers' impatient demands grow louder in the background.
Empty Canvas (2022) distills a high-stakes thriller into eleven taut minutes, where every brushstroke carries the weight of a silent confession and every shadow could hide another unseen threat. Liu crafts an atmosphere of creeping dread and quiet redemption, anchored by Lourd Asprec's raw performance as the trapped influencer who must trade clicks for catharsis. Beneath its genre surface pulses a meditation on legacy, authenticity, and the fragile threads that connect us when our screens go dark.