“Running in Xi’an” Project
Brief description
An Xi is lost in Xi'an City. However, he does not remember where he is from, so he embarks on a journey to find his own identity in Xi'an. An Xi first comes to crowded Muslim Street to find the answer. Then, An Xi comes to the City Wall of Xi'an, where he suddenly understands the meaning of his name. When it is time for dinner, An Xi happens upon a family of 3 in Xi'an. At this time, An Xi understands his identity and the meaning of his name.
Project Synopsis
An Xi is lost in Xi'an City, but An Xi is not an ordinary boy. He does not remember where he is from, so he embarks on a journey to find his own identity in Xi'an City.
In the early morning, he comes to Muslim Street where there are a lot of people. At this time, a line of words appear on screen over An Xi's head: "The famous Beiyuanmen Snack Street in Xi'an, the earliest surviving Mosque of Huajue Alley in China, and the Xi’an Chenghuang Temple, one of China’s three city’s gods’ temples, are all in the area. Many ethnic groups, mainly Han and Hui, live here.” An Xi sees many Xi’an snacks on Muslim Street. All kinds of kebabs, mutton bubble buns, steamed buns, spicy lamb's feet, lamb in the water basin, sauerkraut fried rice, cured beef and lamb, rice noodle, lamb patties, eight-treasure sweet rice porridge, spicy soup, egg glutinous rice glutinous rice. In addition to food, there is also a Muslim neighborhood with over 100 years of history and a deep sense of Muslim culture. There are many mosques of different ages in the neighborhood. Suddenly, something comes into An Xi's head, but it is fleeting. However, he does not care. An Xi continues to walk forward.
Unconsciously, An Xi arrived at the City Wall of Xi'an. He jumps up and flies directly above the City Wall. The City Walls of Xi'an have a heavy sense of history. At this time, another line of words appears on An Xi's head: "Xi'an City Wall is the most preserved place in Chinese history. It is also the largest and most complete existing ancient city wall in the world. It has a history of more than 600 years. Witnessing the rise and fall of each dynasty." There is no gap between the bricks of the city wall. It was made by adding glutinous rice, kiwi fruit, and jujube to the brick material, which was very strong and durable. An Xi was very excited to see the wall and circled it. Suddenly, he kind of understands the meaning of his name.
In a blink of an eye, it's dinner time. An Xi flies into a household. This family has 3 family members. The child has so many things to say that he can't wait to share all of his day’s activities. Dad cannot get a word in while the child is talking, so he has no choice, and puts vegetables in the child's bowl. The mother looks at the helpless
father and can’t help laughing. Shaking her head, she continues to peel the shrimp in her hand. An Xi looks at such a happy family of three and flies out with a knowing smile.
At this time, An Xi realizes that he is not a human being. He can fly, and humans cannot see his existence. On this day of visiting Xi'an, he understands the meaning of his existence. An Xi remembers he is an angel. His name is An Xi, which means the city of Xi’an’s life.
Competitive Edge
This is the first film to show Xi’an City to the world. Most people outside of Xi’an do not know its history or beauty. Born, raised, and currently living in Xi’an, filmmaker Xueyuan Hu brings a unique perspective to this short film that crosses many themes and times in history. As the plot progresses, the protagonist finds that he is a guardian angel sent by God, but the angel himself does not know his identity. He needs to understand Xi'an before he can get the answer to his identity. The overt meaning and purpose of this film is an introduction to Xi'an City and an explanation of the life of Xi'an people. The covert plot and meaning is the male lead's search for his identity. At the end of the film, the male protagonist not only understands the history and life in Xi'an, but also understands the meaning of his existence. This film includes styles of science and magic. It includes travel and exploration. The purpose is to raise children’s interest in learning about different cultures and history as they explore an unfamiliar city.
Target Audience
Many people are accustomed to regard films as high-end cultural products on TV. Even if the targeted audience group has a specific interest and loyalty, this type of audience still is limited. It is difficult to gain popular favor and big influence, especially when the degree of channel specialization is generally low. This is the reason that some channels greatly compressed educational programs. In order to make the film educational and appealing to popular culture, the audience for this film is men, women, and children older than six years old. Themes of family, travel, exploration, and guardian angels are illustrated through science and a magical style in this film. The filmmakers want children as their target audience to raise interest in educational films. Rather than simply introducing and explaining like ordinary educational films, this film is divided into the two different parts between the "Big Family" theme and the "Small Family" theme. "Big Family" is an introduction and explanation of the entire city of Xi'an, more about the history of Xi'an and the appreciation of Xi'an City architecture. Part of the audience is audiences who are interested in history. "Small Family" is a description of an ordinary Xi'an family. How does a Xi'an family live and what is their family status? This part focuses more on the target audience who likes slices of life.
Director's Statement
I chose to direct this short film because this is one education film, and this one will shot in my hometown. I have nostalgia during my college time. Therefore, I really prefer to direct this film, not only for eduation purpose, also for my selfish movtives. Also, I can take this opportunity to promote my hometown