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Original Film Title: A poem by 12 year old boys
Director’s Name: XU JIAN SHENG
Writer’s Name: XU JIAN SHENG
Producer: SHEN YUN
Country of Origin: China
Country of Filming: China
Language: Chinese
Runtime: 13 minutes 37 seconds
Film Description:
This is a non-fictional documentary. Although it looks like a staged film, that’s exactly what I want to do – to turn documentaries into films and films into documentaries.
This documentary follows two children from rural China, Li Wanqin and Shi Yingsuo, who are now 18 years old.
In the summer of 2025, we will look back on the poems they wrote when they were 12 years old. By documenting their lives today at the age of 18, we will observe the changes in their personalities over the past seven years.
In order to create a poetic atmosphere on the screen, we did not use traditional documentary filming techniques. Instead, we specially prepared lighting and angles for each shot, allowing the subjects to freely express themselves within the frame, thereby presenting the most authentic and poetic images.
The two protagonists we have chosen each have their own unique characteristics,
We don’t believe that writing poetry can genuinely enhance one’s academic performance, nor do we think it can help them achieve higher scores in China’s unique selection system, the gaokao. Therefore, we chose the protagonist who studies cooking in a vocational college (which is considered a relatively inferior university in China). His life lacks poetic flair, leaving him burdened with societal pressures, and his voice is drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the city.
For the other protagonist, we chose a particularly shy child at the age of 12. At that time, he was introverted and solitary, living in the mountains with no friends around to chat with. At 12, he was not talkative and his only companion was their family’s calf, his sole friend. Now, at 18, he has finished the college entrance examination, but his results are not ideal.
Our camera captured their 18-year-old moment, but beyond the frame, it also documented our (the main creators’) 28-year-old moment.
At 28, we looked at the 18-year-old version of ourselves in the camera and reminisced about our own 12-year-old selves.
At 28, we ran alongside them, 18-year-olds, in the wheat field bathed in the setting sun.
We believe that the significance of images goes beyond merely recording the moment captured,
It also records the present moment of the recorder.