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At the red carpet at the 17th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, CCTV correspondent sat down with Chinese director Zhang Yang to hear more about his latest family film, "Full Circle." The movie received favorable responses in China back in May, and was invited to the Busan International Film Festival. U-Jean Jung reports from Busan.
Zhang Yang is in Busan to promote his film “Full Circle,” a touching story about a group of old people who escapes their nursery home. The film shows it’s never too late to chase one’s dreams.
The Beijing-born director, whose own parents are in their sixties, said he wanted to capture the agony and troubles of the aging population in China.
Zhang Yang, director, said, “China has entered an aging society. By looking at my parents I was able to experience the troubles and worries of the aging generation, and I wanted to express that in a film. I personally hope those people will lead a happy life.”
“Full Circle” is also about mending ties between father and son, one of Zhang Yang’s favorite subjects. He believes both young and old generations have something to take away from the film.
Zhang Yang said, “Every household has relations between the young and old generations. Currently in China, there are problems related to nursing homes, and where people should go as they get older. This kind of issue is prevalent in Chinese society. So, I think young people should watch this movie.”
Safety always had to be a priority for director Zhang Yang, as the main characters were played by actors mostly in their seventies and eighties.
Zhang Yang said, “If I add all the old people at the nursing home who were involved in the film, their age adds up to three-thousand-years old.”
"One actor caught a cold and had to get an IV injection at a hospital. But other than that, the old actors enjoyed going to the grassy plains where they could lie down and get a lot of sunshine. They were very excited.”
On Saturday evening, we went to check how tickets sales were doing for his film.
The Screening Schedule that you see behind me shows that all screenings for Saturday have been sold out, including Zhang Yang’s Full Circle.
After the screening was over, Zhang Yang answered many questions from the audience. And the local viewers left the cinema, highly recommending the film.
Cho Soo-Young, Seoul resident, said, “The director illustrated the characters’ flow of emotions very delicately. The film helped me understand the thoughts of old people that I did not understand before.”
Park Kee-Ho, Busan resident, said, “I kept thinking about what our children would think when they watch this movie.”
Lee Jung-Ha, Busan resident, said, “We watched it next to young people, and we kept thinking that we would soon be like the characters in the film.”
Ageing society and thoughts on life and death are not unique to China. And director Zhang believes “Full Circle” will be understood by the audience universally, even outside of Asia.