Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    A short film made by 7-year-old students of a Shenzhen primary school, titled “Red Light,” has gone viral online recently as its 84-second trailer has generated more than 220,000 clicks on microblogs.

    The film tells the story of a primary student who persuaded people not to run red lights at intersections after his father was hit and severely injured by a distracted driver who ran a red light.

    The little child, Wenming, had to take up the family’s housework after the accident dealt a heavy blow to the poor family.

    He picked up empty bottles every day after school and exchanged them for money so he could buy a pair of crutches for his father, who was impaired in the accident. Wenming, a transferred student in his class, initially was not understood by his new classmates and often had conflicts with them. When his classmates learned of his sufferings, though, they voluntarily raised donations to help him.

    Jiang Lijiang, director of the school’s moral education office, said the 11-minute film follows a simple plot and was made at a very low cost. All actors were students and parents who participated for free.

    Lu Zixuan, who played Wenming, said he often had to stay home to recite lines after school.

    “The experience of shooting the movie has taught me that persistence leads to victory, and how important it is to abide by traffic laws and travel in a civilized way,” Lu said.

    Jiang revised the script six times before the film was shot and said the biggest challenge was that the actors were too young to take on their roles.

    “They were so excited and nervous at first that they were only reciting lines, rather than acting out scenes,” Jiang said. “But they are very hard-working. All of the shoots were on weekends, but nobody missed a single one.”

    Shenzhen students have made a number of short films in recent years, some of which were independently written and produced by students. Students born in the 1990s often put their creative energy into making short films to explicate their campus lives, aspirations for friendship and love, ambitions for the future, or reflections on social issues. Some students have organized clubs to practice short films, also known as micro-movies, which can be easily produced with digital cameras or camera phones.

    Yang Zhanbo, a veteran film producer, said students should be encouraged to think actively about social issues when making micro-movies, regardless of their technical skills.