Two Lost Brothers

Whom we truly identify as in this society is not an easy phenomenon to think about. I grew up as an American-born Chinese, 1st of my generation. I started growing up with immigrant parents as one living in California and then moved off to live the rest of my childhood from the age of 7 in Shanghai, China. Growing up there, it was hard to establish the basic cultural fundaments of
my roots, especially when starting to learn Mandarin at age 7. Even though the color of my skin is Asian, as a Chinese American I felt like an imposter among other Chinese people. I realized how important it is for the Global Audience to understand how Chinese Americans differentiate from Traditional Chinese. The narrative goal of “Two Lost Brothers” is to visualize the balance of Chinese Americans and Chinese together from a dramatic standpoint.

Two Lost Brothers” is a story about the very first reunion between two young adult siblings who lived separate lives. One is an adopted Chinese younger brother, who lived a full American childhood lifestyle and knows nothing about his Chinese heritage. The other is the elder Chinese brother who looks to reconnect the lost brotherhood bonds with him after a troubling “One-Child” Policy past. Both try to settle the truth between them and their differences. It explores the livelihood of two different backgrounds, the trauma behind two lost brothers over the “One-Child Policy”, and how both Chinese Americans and Chinese can see each other the same way amidst cultural and societal differences.

In terms of the vision of “Two Lost Brothers”, I want the narrative tone to touch on dramatic trauma with warm-hearted notes. Much of the story development stems from the characters and their dark backstories, therefore I want to portray the characters deeply from the inside. Mid-shadows, soft key lights, eye-level shots, and medium close-ups of the characters would help portray them from a symbolic standpoint of tension. Wider shots with warmer key lighting would be used to reflect the symbolic healing between the two characters.

Conclusively, I believe approaching the cinematography from these specifications would visually portray the grim expressions of the two character's backstories, their physical and emotionally struggling reunion, and a feeling of warmth when the two come to closer terms. What I want from the audience is to convey to them the message of brotherly warmth to the audience in the form of bringing the challenge of cultural and linguistic obstacles, to bring two completely different brothers together. I want to use that brotherhood to help the audience examine what makes Chinese Americans and Chinese different, and what brings them together in sometimes the darker points of life. This is a short film that would most likely not make any profit by the end of the day, but what I view as important is my representation of Chinese culture as an artist, and if I can present the audience that representation to let them leave the streaming site or theater thinking, that would be enough…