At a time when content is similar and themes are involuted, urban emotional themes have been trying to break the narrative inertia, hoping to present dramas that are more in line with current social insights. The urban love science fiction comedy "Filter" cleverly combines fantasy settings with social issues, building a creative path for vertical themes between reality and fiction.
Stills from "Filter", Li Landi and Tan Jianci
On the afternoon of April 7, a seminar on "Filter" was held in Beijing. The play was directed by Chen Yuejin and written by Tong Hua and Luo Xiaoting. It tells the story of a new technology product "Filter Bracelet" that allows ordinary Su Chengcheng (played by Li Landi) to have the ability to change her appearance. She can become a beauty or an alpaca. The ever-changing Su Chengcheng allows Tang Qi (played by Tan Jianci), who has relationships with her in various identities, to embark on a journey of self-cognition and emotional redemption in the dual dimensions of the workplace and emotions.
Actor Tan Jianci, who plays Tang Qi, said: "As an original script, Filter has constructed simple emotional values and brought me a lot of inspiration. In the industry's pursuit of male and female protagonists, I have also been shaken and confused, but the drama Filter has solved the problems that I have been wavering about from a creative level. Popular dramas rely on good stories with intentions, and good stories rely on characters that grow. Good characters have full integrity and destiny in the story. While deeply exploring emotions, Filter shows value beyond the entertainment level. It is not only innovative, but also deeply embedded in social issues."
"The creativity of transforming collective anxiety in the digital age into specific dramatic conflicts makes me feel that Filter is not just a love story, but also a social experiment about reality," said director Chen Yuejin.
In order to make the audience like the story of "Filter", the screenwriters consciously set making the audience laugh as their creative goal during the creative process. Screenwriter Tong Hua said: "Filter is a unique and interesting story. When the audience likes this story, our original intention, that is, a beautiful soul is the foundation of human beings, can be firmly established."
Screenwriter Tong Hua
"Filters" is anti-traditional and anti-routine. Tan Jianci said, "From the way filters can change people's appearance to the world view of how filters can backfire after getting career opportunities, I think it is a profound and thought-provoking play. It interprets many issues such as gender opposition, workplace identity and status, and self-worth. Moreover, filters not only raise issues, but also provide some solutions to problems. For example, Su Chengcheng's filter bracelet in the play is not only a prop, but also provides some thought-provoking conclusions, such as whether women must be weak and beautiful to be the heroine, and whether men must be the dominant one in the relationship?"
Tan Jianci
"The play Filter is obviously influenced by Journey to the West," said Zhong Chengxiang, a member of the Central Academy of History and Literature and a famous literary critic. "We did not make it into something illusory, but borrowed traditional culture and rooted it in real life, especially in the hearts of contemporary young people. Filter proves that long dramas are viable. There is no such thing as you replacing me or I replacing you... Whether it is a long drama or a short drama, the essence lies in quality."
Wang Juan, Vice President of Tencent Online Video and Executive Producer of "Filter", said: "'Filter' completes a remote dialogue with the audience in an anti-routine narrative and light comedy atmosphere. This idea of transforming topics into genre innovation is also one of the logics for us to continue to deepen our vertical track in recent years. It is this continuous investment in new content that allows us to see the two-way rush of original stories and public sentiment."
Stills from "Filter"
