Experiencing Interruptions?

The World I See

In a colorful house, the jobs of RED, BLUE, and YELLOW puppet makers are making wooden puppets for the factory every day. The unchangeable system and tedious routines not only restrain their imaginations but also encourage them to only care about their everyday tasks. One day, the "rebellious" red puppet maker desires to bring to their lives a different spark after receiving a smiley Charlie Chaplin puppet. However, the co-workers deny the sudden change and become the blockage in the journey. Now, he has to find his way through the institutionalized working system to reach his ideal world alone.

在一座色彩繽紛的小木屋裡，住著紅、藍、黃三個老木匠。他們每天製作木偶，並送到工廠，過著枯燥乏味的生活。老木匠們的臉就像他們做的木偶一樣，沒有表情。他們只在乎在固定的嚴格體制下完成他們該完成的工作。然而，一心想改變的紅木匠老人意外發現了卓别林木偶，並受到啟發。他盼望著為小木屋的生活添點色彩，不再生活在一成不變的體制中，但是，他的同伴似乎害怕這突如其來的改變。在沒有任何支持下，他必須一人孤軍奮戰，尋找改變的可能。

  • Shawn Lai
    Director
  • Shawn Lai
    Writer
  • Tancy Karat
    Producer
  • Shawn Lai
    Producer
  • Nikil Jayant
    Key Cast
    "Red Puppet Maker"
  • Joseph Miller
    Key Cast
    "Blue Puppet Maker"
  • Brian Funnagan
    Key Cast
    "Yellow Puppet Maker"
  • Robert Nachman
    Cinematographer
  • Coco Li
    Production Designer
  • Cali Wang
    Composer
  • Luqi Zhao
    Editor
  • Bin Lin
    Sound Designer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Fantasy, Fairy tale
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 24, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    27,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    No Dialogue
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cannes International Independent Film Festival
    Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France
    France
    Official Selection
  • Genre Celebration Festival
    Tokyo, Japan
    Japan
    Best Fantasy Short
  • Aesthetica Film Festival
    York, England
    United Kingdom
    Official Selection
  • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival
    Providence, Rhode Island, United States
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival
    Houston, Texas, United States
    United States
    Award Winner
Director Biography - Shawn Lai

Shawn Lai, born in Taichung City, Taiwan, is a director, writer, producer, and film educator. He graduated from an MFA filmmaking major at New York Film Academy. In his stories, he loves to write the characters in the fairy tale stories who struggle over what seems unchangeable in society or life and turn them into allegoric fantasy films.

賴楷璿（Shawn Lai），出生於台灣台中市，紐約電影學院（New York Film Academy）研究所畢業，主修導演。等公車電影工作室共同創辦人，現為導演、編劇、製片，並致力於影像創作及影像教育。電影作品有2021年執導《將會遇見的你》、2020年編劇執導《The World I See》，其作品入圍英國羅德島電影節、美國休士頓世界電影節、日本東京類型電影節最佳奇幻短片&最佳導演、上海青年短片大賽優秀作品。喜歡以奇幻童話故事的概念來刻畫小人物身處在艱辛的大環境時，追尋自我的故事；欲以奇幻的影視風格帶給觀眾作品的寓意。影像教育方面，長期舉辦兒童電影工作坊、電影讀書會、露天電影院、互動性影像展覽，希望培養更多熱愛電影的文化教育。

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Director Statement

Today, people are confined to institutionalized society that provides us with routines, habits and even rewards. We are convinced that comfort is the ultimate goal in life. On the other hand, some people believe that we deserve a better world; however, these dreams are denounced as mobs and riots when they try to challenge the formality of “peace.” When the visionaries reach out to the majority, the response repeatedly comes back questioning and suspecting their intentions.

Maybe what the changers want is never complicated, or maybe what they are seeking is a chance but is overlooked. By making The World I See, I look forward to taking viewers on the journey and experience every bit of joy and disappointment with the protagonist.

Vibrant colors are used in the fantasy film to create an irony of the dark side of society. Also, the silence is intended to form an allegory for the system that seems to be peaceful but institutional, and at the same time, to pay tribute to the kind happiness that lies in Chaplin’s films, tranquil and true.

在這個世界上，上層和上一代所建構的體制、生活習慣甚至獎勵似乎都成為了枷鎖，「渴望安逸」的心無形的捆綁著我們。但是總有一些人，抱著想改變的夢，努力趨向更好的生活。漸漸地，禁不起挑戰的體制，開始視他們為暴民、叛變者；已經習慣體制的「正常人」，因為討厭被打亂的生活，甚至懷疑這群人的動機，認為他們一定有利可圖。這「少數人」的心聲，被認為沒有被了解的必要。

然而，或許他們的訴求很簡單，只是乍然，顯得難以接受。希望透過這部作品，觀眾能理解主角的心境，更也感受不同聲音的出發點。

在電影語言方面，我想透過色彩豐富的童話故事來諷刺現實社會中的黑暗面。以默片的方式來致敬卓别林電影中，安靜卻歡樂的意象；同時，也象徵著影片裡寧靜的生活中，暗藏的無聲黑暗體制。

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