Shadows And Lies

Set in Beijing, China, SHADOWS AND LIES is feature length, dark comedy concerning an aging vampire hunter, Sonny Ray Briggs, from Blanchard Springs, Arkansas who seeks revenge on the vampires who murdered his wife. Chasing the “longtooths” from Arkansas to Beijing, Sonny Ray is assisted in his sanguinary quest for retaliation by Bobo Lin, a blue-haired, 20something Beijing girl who has decided to devote her life to “killing evil” and, Serenity, a mute man with a penchant for eating bugs.

Uncovering a nest of vampires in an enormous, rambling Chinese ranch house on the outskirts of Beijing, the unlikely trio pledge to destroy the murderous vampires or to die trying. Their battle, however, morphs from a mere battle of good versus evil into a dangerous search to discern facts from fantasy. For the story of their vampire hunt engulfs the actors playing the heroes and the villains in a joint life & death struggle to cling to the comparative safety of reality while being sucked deeper and deeper into deadly fiction of the film’s dark plot.

  • Joseph Graves
    Director
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Joseph Graves
    Writer
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Joseph Graves
    Producer
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Summer Wei
    Producer
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Summer Wei
    Key Cast
    "Bobo Lin"
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Joseph Graves
    Key Cast
    "Sunny Ray"
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Frank Lyu
    Key Cast
    "Cameraman"
  • Sebastian Li
    Key Cast
    "Serenity"
    The Thing In The Bag
  • Jq Wang
    Key Cast
    "Shadows"
  • Skyfall Zhou
    Key Cast
    "Shaows"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Horro, Drama, Music comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 18 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 25, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese, English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Joseph Graves

Along with work in dozens of plays or all kinds, Joseph Graves has acted in and/or directed all of Shakespeare's plays. His theatre work has been seen from New York to Los Angeles in America; in London, Dublin and Glasgow in Great Britain; in numerous continental European countries; and in more than 100 cities in China. He is currently the Artistic Director of Sevenages, the largest musical theatre company in China.

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Director Statement

SHADOWS AND LIES is one of many full-length, experimental movies created in China in the last few years as a part of a new film style, evolving mainly in Beijing, which goes unofficially by the name: 3 by 3 Films.

The parameters of the 3 by 3 Films movement which were suggested by the filmmakers initially involved are as follows: (1) full length film scripts must be written in three days or less to a specific Beijing location. (2) The films must be completely shot within three days or less and have nine characters or less. (3) Films must be shot on micro-budgets using both English and Chinese languages catering to dual language speakers in China. (4.) Genre bending is encouraged as is blending the styles of film and stage while still keeping the films as technically proficient as possible given the limited budget and time frame. (5.) 3 by 3 Films are meant to explore the natures of reality and illusion.

FURTHER NOTES ON 3 BY 3 FILMS
Since the movement started in 2017, 3 by 3 Films are often screened for free in academic and social clubs on Chinese university campuses and in Chinese cities’ bookshops. This happens as a part of a broader, mainly literary, and very unofficial movement in China called (loosely translated into English) Questioning Reality.

It is my feeling that SHADOWS AND LIES, though following strictly the 3 by 3 Films parameters, might well have appeal to a wider audience than simply those who are familiar with 3 by 3 Films styles, and the Questioning Reality movement in China.