Documenting trends
 |
|
Fan Lixin is best-known for directing Last Train Home in 2009, which has garnered him dozens of awards. |
"It's a controversial topic, but my thought is quite simple. I hope to observe the values of young Chinese and the characteristics they present on the entertainment stage and in real life," he says.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
"I see them more as a group of young people against the background of 2013 in China than just some idols," he says.
According to him, the commonality of those born in the '90s is that they do things without any purpose and are more self-centered, a characteristic that can be considered as both positive and negative. "It may be difficult to cooperate with a self-centered person. But they are more prone to seek freedom," he says.
He is often moved by their stories.
"This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Hunan TV's talent show. The work is not only a summary, but also reflects the changes in China's reality show business and society," he says.
Besides the popular candidates of the show such as the top three singers, Hua Chenyu, Ou Hao and Bai Jugang, the film documentary also tells touching stories of those who did not make it past the audition and failed to impress the audience.
Take 21-year-old Hu Wanbang, for example. Last year, he followed his father to Guangzhou to become a migrant worker because he found it hopeless to live in his rural hometown.
The reason is that his fiancee's family required a wedding dowry of 50,000 yuan ($8,200), but Hu only had his father's life savings of 30,000 yuan. The marriage was canceled.
Hu likes to write his own songs under his quilt when other workers are asleep. He only sings in the spinning factory's workshop at night when others have left. His singing is drowned by the roars of machines.
"I'm nobody and no one wants to hear my songs. The city is large but has nothing to do with me. Although I'm trapped in the factory and have no friends, I will walk out of here someday," Hu told Fan.
The young man is just one of the numerous second-generation migrant workers in China. Compared with their parents, they're better educated and eager to integrate into urban life and have higher job expectations.
Fan's documentary film also includes a dama, or middle-aged woman, from Shanghai who leads other elderly women to sing and dance in different iconic places.
"One scene has them dancing in front of a community, where the residents will be relocated to make way for development. It means the old lifestyle is replaced by a new one. The city's transition reflects changes in the whole country," he says.
