The Obsessives

“I have a friend who lives in a mountain village and does inexplicable things.”

  • Yao Lai Jiang
    Director
  • Yao Lai Jiang
    Writer
  • Sun Zhi Zheng
    Writer
  • Xiang Xiang
    Producer
  • Ying Qi
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    痴人传
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 31 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 10, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16：9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Xiang Xiang Film
    Distributor
    Country: China
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Yao Lai Jiang

Yao Laijiang, who goes by Situ as a pen name, is born in 1975 and identifies himself as a writer-artist. He has published short story collections walking Together, Go Stories of Green and Zhang Zao, and Picnic: Writing sentences like today’s writing. He currently lives in Shanghai and works at the intersection of writing, art, and filmmaking.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

There have been many obsessives in the history of literature and film, namely those who are extremely determined to achieve certain things. This film tries to portray one of them who lives in this time.

The film is supposed to show the nuanced facade of people living in the world, as opposed to focusing on a concrete situation that one falls into living in the society. It is hence not a generic story revolving around human nature. Yet still, it contains an anthropological perspective, which reveals itself in the depiction of the minority. The narrative, however, is not one that expresses grievances or satisfies idle curiosity; rather it seeks to redefine the village as a living space.

The film pays tribute to the classic Chinese novel Journey to The West as well as the popular TV series adapted from the novel.
Additionally, I try to make a @ilm with quite a few shot angles that perhaps anyone could make such a @ilm in their own version. Despite the simple shots, the film does not lack emotional depth or investigation of human existence.