Category: Best Inspirational Film WSXA 2023 Amsterdam

Original Film Title: You are my youth

Director’s Name: Shannan Zhang

Writer’s Name: Shannan Zhang, Luwei Fang

Producer: Jingzhi Yan

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

Film Description:

Mo Caining is a common grade-two student in senior high school. As her class teacher is her own aunt, she has to pretend as if she is a well-behaved student in daily life, while she is actually a real net expert. The arrival of the transfer student Gu Tianqi makes a great difference in her quiet senior year life. One day, Mo Caining finds that Gu Tianqi turned out to be the younger brother of her idol Gu Yunfan, and she promises to keep the secret. 
Soon after, Gu Tianqi’s special identity is viral over the Internet, for which Mo Caining has a misunderstanding with her friend. To prevent Gu Tianqi from transferring to another school once again, Mo Caining and her friends help Gu Tianqi to untie his heart knots and get out of trouble. 
Though Mo Caining has been a study slacker, she makes astonishing progress in the study thanks to Gu Tianqi’s help. Meanwhile, she wins the praise from her aunt, the class teacher. With visions for the future and precious friendship, she starts her winter vacation. And in the process of getting along with each other, they also achieve growth and set their own life goals.

Original Film Title: Proof of Concept

Director’s Name: Ben Neilson

Producer: Ben Neilson

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: France, United States

Language: English

Runtime: 31 minutes 43 seconds

Film Description:

Up against the toughest route he’d ever attempted, Sean Bailey pushes himself to new limits and completes the third ascent of Bibliographie, 5.15c. This film dives into Sean’s career as a pro climber, and how he uses both success and failure to fuel his climbing and push himself to new limits.

Original Film Title: 污河之中

Director’s Name: Tony G

Writer’s Name: Tony G, Ying Zhao

Producer: Meredith Esquivel, Yuheng Zhu

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 29 minutes 59 seconds

Film Description:

A boy goes missing on the grounds of a new factory. Cheng Yong, the factory manager, refuses to provide the security footage. Once the boy’s family brings the incident to light, Cheng Yong becomes embroiled in the public’s anger. 
It is said that Cheng Yong wants to take over an old factory adjacent to the new factory. The only person standing in his way is a gatekeeper at the old factory, who happens to be the grandfather of the missing boy. As backlash brews against Cheng Yong, his own son disappears shortly after an argument with a classmate. Help from a mysterious woman and a surprising turn of events helped switch the tide of public opinion in favor of Cheng Yong. When Cheng Yong and the mob go to confront the missing boy’s family, the gatekeeper unexpectedly falls to his death. Was Cheng Yong responsible for this tragedy? He is again swept up in a whirlpool of public opinion. Cheng Yong flees, and the crowd eventually disperses. Meanwhile, a body is found downstream of the river, and Cheng Yong’s fate becomes as muddled as the murky river itself….

Original Film Title: To Be Like You

Director’s Name: Meredith Esquivel

Writer’s Name: Meredith Esquivel, JE Swainston

Producer: Meredith Esquivel

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 24 minutes

Film Description:

Both Danny Telman and Johnny Springton are young artists with a legacy to live up to. The weight of these societal and parental expectations weigh on them as the desperately try to find a way to be the masters of their own destinies. Once they are brought together by a chance posting for an acting gig, the unexpected interconnectedness of of their upbringings come to the forefront as their stories intertwine around the creation of something to call their own.

Original Film Title: 出息

Director’s Name: Sanjin Liu

Writer’s Name: Yuhui Li

Producer: Sanjin Liu

Country of Origin: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 16 minutes

Film Description:

Zhang Xiaoyun is the most proud child in the eyes of her father. She thought that relying on her own hands could change her fate, but was imprisoned due to the police’s crackdown on pornography. After being released from prison, she returned to her hometown and struggled to make a living. By chance, she met the “old teacher” Liu Shufang who took her into pornographic venues, and once again embarked on the old path of the pornographic industry. Unexpectedly, I ran into my father Zhang Congjun in the brothel where I worked. The father and daughter met awkwardly, and the secret of the three was finally exposed.

Original Film Title: 《翼动天使-母爱》

Director’s Name: Lei Tian

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 20 minutes

Film Description:

Hu Zijun, who has multiple secondary disabilities, was abandoned by his father’s family since childhood. His mother, against her parents’ wishes, chose to care for him alone for 26 years. Hu Zijun deeply appreciates everything his mother has done for him. On her birthday, he wants to prepare a cake for her. However, facing society on his own for the first time, he gets lost. His mother blames herself and becomes anxious. On the verge of a breakdown, she receives a call from the Disabled Persons’ Federation, informing her that her child has been brought back to the institution by a teacher from the Disabled People’s Home. She rushes there immediately, finds her son, and learns the whole story. The mother is deeply moved. After understanding the Disabled People’s Home, she decides to leave her child there for learning and rehabilitation. Several years later, Hu Zijun not only becomes self-sufficient in his daily life but also learns to cook. His grandfather also accepts the mother and son again.