Private Project

RPG

In the near future, people’s everyday life is overlaid with an AR system called “Nirvana.”

Early one evening, everyone in Sonya’s family puts on his/her AR glasses. Sonya is a doctor specializing in Autism, her career derailed by vicious attacks and gossip on the Internet. Daughter is bullied at school, son Taku has his heart set on capturing the high-level monsters in the game. Japanese Tony just joined this family, but even if he can translate everything before his eyes into Japanese, it doesn’t mean he can become part of this family any faster.

Nirvana, however, might know you better than your family does.
In this conflict-filed night, their AR glasses presents an endless streaming of shopping promos, interpersonal communication tips, and in-game “Sawalong!” missions.

They live in a half-real, half-imitation kingdom. If you don’t wear glasses, you see them gesticulating wildly in the air, as if the whole city is an enormous pantomiming stage.

  • Chun Han Shih
    Director
  • Chun Han Shih
    Writer
  • Jimmy Huang
    Producer
  • Benjamin Lin
    Producer
  • Masatoshi Nagase
    Key Cast
    "Tony"
  • Ruby Lin
    Key Cast
    "Sung Ya"
  • Yi Chiao An
    Key Cast
    "Leng Tung"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    RPG
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Drama
  • Runtime:
    29 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 15, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    130,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Armenian, Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:19
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
    Taipei
    Taiwan
    November 16, 2019
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Chun Han Shih

Emerging director from Taiwan whose short films have received accolades from more than 40 film festivals worldwide, including: Freezing of Time (2003, Taipei Film Festival - International Student Golden Lion Grand Prize winner), Once upon a time in Kinmen (2011, Houston WorldFest - Historical Platinum Remi winner; Kaohsiung Film Festival - competition entry), Including Her Out (2013, Golden Harvest Award - Grand Prize winner), with an original screenplay inspired by Eileen Chang’s tour of Taiwan. A talented novelist and winner of Lin Rung San Literary Award for Best Novella, two-time winner of the Unitas Literature Best New Novelist Award, winner of the Literature and Arts Creative Award by Ministry of Education, and named “Post-80: Top Ten Rising Novelists” by Wenshun magazine.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Although this film includes quite a few panoramic views on technology, at its heart it is a story about family, about emotional needs.
Contrasted against the modern theme of technology and flashy visual effects, the main plot is rather plain, narrating the emotional conflict that happens among four members of a family. Just as we don’t use technology for the sake of experiencing technology, what drives us to technology is often a deep need within our hearts. The film’s AR perspective is not purely to demonstrate the technology of photographic overlays; rather, it is a ubiquitous metaphor for feelings.
The four characters in the story are really searching for psychological comfort. Instead, the AR system provides them with a half-real, half-imitation world. This film attempts to allow the AR perspective to rise to the level of metaphor by exploring the secrets and conflicts between the characters. It contemplates the question: When human beings build relationships through augmented reality, can their feelings extend into reality after the simulated layer is peeled away?