Dance! Dance! Dance!
Director: Lichang Tan, Yixin Zhao
Screenwriter: Lichang Tan, Yixin Zhao
Cast:Yutong He, Qingyu Tan
Producer:Zhimo Wang
Cinematographer:Boyi Yin
Running Time:5min
Region:China
Year:2024
Language:Mandarin Chinese
Production Company:Communication University of China
SYNOPSIS
In a world afar, it is girls who may dance and boys who should not. Obsessed with dancing, a boy willfully took risks of peeping at the dance moves of girls and mining through the old books for any trace of men dancing in the past, so as to find affirmation of his own identity. As his desire for dancing grew stronger, the inquisition squad also approached…
Director Biography
<p>Lichang Tan, currently enrolled at the Radio and TV editing (Artistic Direction), Discipline of Radio and Television Arts, Communication University of China, Class of 25’. </p><p>Yixin Zhao, currently enrolled at the Radio and TV editing (Artistic Direction), Discipline of Radio and Television Arts, Communication University of China, Class of 25’.</p>
Director's Statement
First and foremost, the expression of short film at its core is personal, originating solely from ourselves – we want to speak up our rebellion against stereotypical gender expressions. When I was growing up, gender stereotypes always existed in the perceptions of people around me: my family, school, and society. Nowadays, more diversified perspectives and aesthetics of gender have gradually come into the mainstream. The patriarchal society’s discipline of masculinity has consequently faced an impact, while we as sexual minorities have also come to questioning and reflecting on the “toxicity in masculinity.” Thus, we formed the core of a story about a boy’s confrontation with the stereotypical masculinity. A one-sentence synopsis would read as: “The procrastinated protagonist who is fighting against stereotypical masculinity breaks with the system and ultimately dies due to the system’s punishment.” In this short film, the boy’s rebellion against masculinity is innate and natural; when he discovers pictures of the once-existing dancing men halfway through the film, he is both affectionate and determined, realizing his love for men and finally identifying as sexual minority. He eventually holds on to his death resolve in order to break with the system. Though the short film has a tragic ending, just like the boy’s finger, trembling, the dance will not stop, and the awakening of sexual minorities will not vanish under the oppression of authority. With stylized images and fictionalization, we attempt to build a world full of symbolism, a world that signifies the real one. We hope to arouse the awakening of sexual minorities by making this short film. Every time I watch it, the boy’s commitment always inspires me deeply.
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