The movie "I Am a Mountain", based on the true story of Zhang Guimei, the principal of Huaping Girls' High School in Lijiang, Yunnan, was officially released on November 24.
On the eve of the film's release, actor Hai Qing who plays Principal Zhang in the film, Wang Yueting and Chai Ye who play the young teachers in the film, and amateur actors Mei Duo Dawa and Zhao Ruiting who play the roles of sisters Shan Ying and Shan Yue in the film. We came to Shanghai Cinemas to meet the audience and share unforgettable moments during the filming of the film.
"I am a mountain" Shanghai road show scene
"I am a Mountain" tells the moving story of Principal Zhang who chose to live in the mountains without hesitation, promoted the establishment of China's first free girls' high school, and led more than a hundred girls in the mountains to "break away from the shackles and break out of the mountains."
In the film, Principal Zhang Guimei is like a tough, powerful and warm thread that connects the youth of the female students in the mountain villages. Shanying, who had a weak foundation but was stubborn, always wanted to work hard to earn money for her sister to study; Shanyue, who had excellent grades and wanted to change her destiny through studying, was eventually sold to an old bachelor in the village and died; Jiu Duoyun, whose parents took the wrong medicine and became deaf in one ear because of their illiterate parents, Wang Cai'e who brought a big goose to school, Tang Xiaoping who failed to finish junior high school but insisted on studying and hoped to take the college entrance examination... every girl who comes to this school to study There are heavy shackles of reality behind them. Principal Zhang used his selfless love and desperate determination to lead a group of young teachers to help the girls change their destiny in a difficult environment. "I was born into a mountain, not a stream..." The title of the film is taken from the oath taken by the students of Huaping Girls' High School in Lijiang. This sentence is also an affirmation and encouragement to the dignity and courage of every ordinary girl.
"I am a mountain" poster
Talking about her feelings about playing Principal Zhang Guimei this time, Hai Qing said that she was very honored to play such a great person. She said that "it took a long time to invest in this creation. I got to know Teacher Zhang in 2018 and 2019, and began to pay attention to her story, read her interviews and reports, and thought what kind of person could be so great. At first, I was curious, but later The closer I get, the better I get to know her, and I find that selflessness shines everywhere in her, and it is her selfless spirit that has made her thousands of people.”
Stills from "I am a mountain"
In addition to the efforts of professional actors to get closer to the real characters, the simple state and sincere performances of the amateur actors have also become the most direct power of the film to move people's hearts. At the road show, Hai Qing introduced to the audience that the female students participating in the show were selected by the crew from more than 2,000 children in the mountainous areas of Yunnan. During the filming process, in order to allow the children to have a more immersive experience with the characters in the film, the crew adopted a "sequential filming" mode, arranging the filming progress in chronological order, and went to the scene every day to talk to the young actors about what was going to happen. Things and prescribed situations guide their emotions into the characters.
Interaction between main creative staff
At the end of the film, the scene where Shanying is admitted to university and Principal Zhang is shouting from across the mountain also moved many viewers. It can be called one of the "most crying" scenes in the film. Hai Qing revealed that the scene of just a few minutes took her and Medo Dawa three days each to shoot. Because they had to catch up with the special lighting conditions after sunset before the sky was completely dark, the effective shooting time was only half an hour each day, and the amateur actors He gave full emotions every day and gave touching performances with tears streaming down his face. "When I was acting, I was actually guiding her in front of her and infecting her with my emotions," Hai Qing said.
At the scene, an audience member who had taught in Yunnan watched the video with his mother, who has been engaged in education all her life. Two generations of educators spoke highly of the film's expression and said, "If there were more people like this, our society would be much better." At the scene, the two young actors who played Shanying and Shanyue also "Reported" to the two teachers about their current majors. Both of them are currently students majoring in preschool education. In the future, they will also devote themselves to education and pass their love to the next generation in their hometown.
