Private Project

A Big Deal

This movie is based on a true story.
The story takes place in a small county in northern China. Industry transformation has made those who are unable to keep pace with the development abandoned by the times. A strong man named Biaogan Zhao (also called Bill) is a typical character that still survives in industrial age. It seems like a man like him only deserves a fate of losing jobs and divorcement.
A turning point occurs when Bill almost gives up on his life. A man he has never met before offered him a very uncommon job—To be an assassin!

  • YANG YUFEI
    Director
  • WU BOPING
    Director
  • WU BOPING
    Writer
  • YANG YUFEI
    Writer
  • TANG RUIZE
    Producer
  • SANG PING
    Key Cast
  • ZHANG JINGRAN
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    刺客行
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 16, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    40,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - YANG YUFEI, WU BOPING

Education
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Film Production (2013)
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Filmography：
2017 Short Film Sound of the Soundless (China)
Position: Screenwriter & Director
Honors: 2017 Jordanian International Short Film Festival (best film award)
2017 Jordanian International Short Film Festival (best main actor award)
2017 Jordanian International Short Film Festival (best art director award)

Feature Experience：
2018 Feature The Mermaid 2 (China/HongKong)
Position: Executive Director

2017 Feature Push & Shove (China/HongKong)
Position: Co-producer & Executive Director

2016 Feature THE LIQUIDATOR (China/HongKong)
Position: Second Unit Director

2016 Independent Feature FREEZING (China)
Position: Producer
Honors: 40th Montreal World Film Festival First Films World Competition (Finalists, not awarded)
2017 Washington, DC Independent Film Festival Features Competition(Finalists, not awarded)

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Director’s statement
There is an old Chinese saying goes ‘Events of the past and the present, are all blend in chats with wine.’ It means no matter how earthshaking the event was, or how unbreakable the love or hatred had existed, all of them will just become topics to chat about on a dining table.
I heard this story from a news. It was so absurd that I can’t help sharing with my friends all around. Although it was a tragedy, my friends laughed out loud when they heard it. I suddenly realized that the most absurd thing in a real world is ‘As time passes, everything’s just gone with the wind’. So I decided to present this weird-enough story in a way as if it’s a funny story told by others.

Trichord and Chinese classical aesthetics
Bill is a typical northern Chinese guy: Undemonstrative, euphemistic, afraid of losing face, and a Spanish athlete. He is emotionally sensitive while he doesn’t know how to express his own feeling. So I want to tell this story in a more Chinese way, in order to coordinate with the narrative styleI mentioned before. I selected a Chinese classical instrument—Trichord. It is the only instrument played in the film. The chord becomes a tuneful accompany while the story is being presented in a simple and easy way.
In order to enhance the Chinese classical feeling, I chose the circular composition.

About circular composition
I created two worlds in the story:
One is a world of Bill himself. Just like his big figure, this world is round and expanded, and even some romantic color are added. In this world, the tile of assassin is how he addresses himself.
Another one is the outside world apart from Bill, where includes his ex-wife as well as all other people exist. In this square-shaped world, everything is under certain rules. Therefore the film has been divided into two parts. The circle stands for the last times of Bill’s life——A farewell to his friends, family and those he loves. This part is full of strong emotions alongside with lyrics in a playful narrative style.
Square stands for his ex-wife and other people, who represents the realistic world, and there’re not too many colours involved. When Bill’s ex-wife realized the love that Bill has for her at the end of the story, a circle started to appear in her squared world.