LayarHijau – Three days after wrapping production on a short drama project, director Gao Jun (43) collapsed in the bathroom of his home.
The incident occurred on October 20 at 4:40 p.m., when his wife, Wang Fei, found him unconscious and rushed him to the hospital. At 6:21 p.m., doctors pronounced him dead from a myocardial infarction. Days later, after completing funeral arrangements, Wang Fei reviewed her husband’s phone and began piecing together the conditions he had endured during his final days.
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According to Wang Fei, Gao Jun had rarely discussed work matters with his family over the past two years. Previously a commercial and documentary director, he had gone through a period without steady work before considering a shift into the short-drama industry this May. Since August, he had taken on several projects.
His final assignment was filmed in Zhengzhou from October 14 until the early hours of October 18. Gao served as the executive director, overseeing on-set coordination and department management. Group-chat logs show that daily calls for preparation were sent at around 7 a.m., while messages about late-night meals, missing items, and transportation for the following day continued to appear well past midnight. From this pattern, Wang Fei believes the crew had been working more than 17 hours per day.
She is convinced that the extreme workload in the days leading up to his death played a direct role in the tragedy. She also noted that short-drama crews are often assembled temporarily, without clear labor contracts or detailed payment terms, leaving workers unprotected when accidents occur.
The short drama Gao worked on was an overseas-oriented project, with its production group chat titled “Brazilian Portuguese – Filming Starts October 14.” The chat included 35 members. The project was produced by Henan Huabeike Culture Media Co., Ltd., with Liu Aiguo serving as the main director and the company’s sole shareholder.
Liu described Gao as meticulous and highly responsible. Chat records show Gao repeatedly expressing his readiness to work at any time, sending messages such as “available throughout the National Day holiday,” “tell me anything you need me to prepare,” and “standing by for instructions at any time.”
On October 20, hours before the incident, Gao told Liu he had been severely sleep-deprived and was experiencing an unprecedented “loss of focus on set.” Wang Fei said he had also complained of foot pain after returning home. His phone’s step-count data indicated that he had walked more than 12,000 steps per day during the shoot.
After the incident, Gao’s family held several discussions with Liu. Both sides reached an agreement regarding his project payment: five working days at 1,000 yuan per day (about 140 USD per day), plus transportation reimbursement. The family received a total of 6,000 yuan, equal to roughly 840 USD.
However, negotiations over condolence compensation remain unresolved. Liu offered 10,000 yuan (around 1,400 USD), while the family is requesting a higher amount. Talks have stalled, and no agreement has been reached so far.
