SYNOPSIS

Sandstorm blows, waters scarce. In a remote mining town without any radio signals, a quirky teenage girl gets curious about a passing truck driver.

INTENTION

A few years ago, I accompanied a Swiss photographer on a road trip in western China. We got lost in the countryside and stopped at a small restaurant for dinner. The young girl who served us food had never seen a foreigner before. She kept looking at us, her eyes full of curiosity. Also on this trip, I met a security guard at a hotel. He told me that the first time he heard pop songs was from a Walkman of his colleague. "I don't know why, but I was so overwhelmed that I cried, it was odd." Those two stories stuck in my mind, and it is not before long that I put them together to create this screenplay.

The short film tells a romantic encounter of two lonely souls under the breathtaking scenery of China. The minimalist style brings out the characters' longing and yearning for hope. Xiao Lan may never have the chance, but she is eager to get out of the mountains and listen to beautiful music. All of this requires a firm decision: to leave home, to leave the place you are familiar with. And Lei Zi, a hustler who has tasted the lure and the struggles of urban life, now misses the simple rural life.

These two characters both reflect myself, a girl who was once protected by her parents, wanted to explore the world at all costs. But after living abroad for many years, the memories of childhood’s simplicity struck back. It may be a common feeling that many of us has experienced - a universal desire for the unknown and a nostalgia for home. There is a mountain, and we always want to go over to see the other side, no matter what, no matter how.