On October 16, the movie "The Best Encounter" held its premiere in Beijing. Director Ha Zhichao, screenwriter Qiu Yan, and leading actors Jin Shijia, Zhang Junning, Jiang Peiyao, Wu Yuheng, etc. attended the post-screening event and shared their filming experiences and behind-the-scenes moments with the audience. The movie will be released nationwide on October 20.
"The Best Encounter" Poster
"The Best Encounter" tells the story of Dr. Cao Lu (played by Jin Shijia), a B-ultrasound technician who was frustrated in life and came to work at the Dongshan Courtyard Welfare Institute after being introduced. Here, Dr. Cao Lu saw an unusual world like a paradise, and also met the special lovers Liu Yingjun (played by Qiu Ze) and Wu Yanzi (played by Zhang Junning). Their clumsy but extremely firm love slowly changed Dr. Cao Lu, who was hiding a secret. And until an accident happened, everyone was faced with a difficult choice...
According to the "Statistical Bulletin on the Situation of Disabled Persons in China" released by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2022, the number of people with mental disabilities in our country has reached 16 million. People with mental disabilities often find it difficult to integrate into society and face many survival difficulties. It is against this background that "The Best Encounter" conveys the film's theme of "love can eliminate all barriers" through the love story of the protagonists Yingjun and Yanzi, a pair of mentally disabled people.
Jin Shijia as Dr. Cao Lu
As one of the founders of Li Bonan Director Studio, director Ha Zhichao has been deeply involved in stage dramas for many years and has also acted as screenwriter in many films. "The Best Encounter" is his debut as a film director. At the premiere, he said that the inspiration for the film came from an orphanage that he personally visited. The innocent and simple life of the children there left a deep impression on him.
"In the movie story, we present a variety of different life encounters. There may be many dissatisfactions in a person's life, but how to face life is the most important thing." Ha Zhichao said that due to the special subject matter, the creative team specially Doctors and psychologists were hired to make desk preparations for the actors. "The actors also went to the orphanage to experience life before filming started, eating and shopping with these special people. They lived together almost from morning to night to get a feel for the characters. inner world."
Screenwriter Qiu Yan believes that script creation is the biggest challenge. "It reflects real problems and real stories, but it needs to be expressed in a relatively warm context that everyone can accept. I think this kind of attempt is very valuable in this creation."
Taiwanese actors Chiu Ze and Chang Junning play the roles of epileptic Yingjun and autistic Yanzi respectively in the film. After the screening, the audience expressed that they could not equate the characters in the movie with their public images. Zhang Junning said that when he received the script, several relatives in his family died one after another. "Faced with these sorrows, I became angry and even doubtful about the meaning of life." She said that she was moved by the maternal brilliance of the swallow in the script, and the hope and protection of new life. "Even if this child only lives for 15 minutes, he will bring many gifts to the people around him, which makes me feel very powerful."
Qiu Ze as Liu Yingjun
Zhang Junning as Wu Yanzi
When Jin Shijia spoke, he believed that the movie project book was very much like a fairy tale, and he defined this appearance as a return to nature. "The whole story uses Dr. Cao Lu as the first perspective to cut into Dongshan Courtyard. He actually broke into a world in a fairy tale by mistake. Dr. Cao Lu was very utilitarian and worldly at the beginning, but through his relationship with handsome, Through Yanzi's communication, he shed all the intrigues in himself little by little, and found the purest, simplest, and most precious happiness in being a human being."
In the post-screening exchange session, director and screenwriter Zhang Ji also expressed his views as a fellow guest: "Those of us who have always dealt with realistic themes know that from its earliest origin, realistic themes are to pay attention to the marginalized and vulnerable groups in society. Their Difficulties, their efforts, their struggles, these should also be seen by the world. If I were to do this kind of subject, it would not be as beautiful as in the film, placed in a fairy tale-like courtyard. Different creators, It will bring a different color to the world.”
