Re-stART

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools suspended in-person classes and instead went online using the Zoom meeting platform.

“Light After The Dark” is based on the real-life story of a young student named Sarah, whose life was affected by the lockdown during pandemic. Sarah finds it hard to pay attention to online classes as she is suffering from emotional and anxiety issues. Her mother seeks help from Sarah’s friend to motivate and help her get back on track in life. 

It’s the year 2025. Breadwinner Matthew chooses to comply with the continuously tightened epidemic prevention measures, while his friend Lucy opts to go after the lifestyle that suits her best.

Conflict erupts among Chris, Lucy and their friend Matthew at dinner. They have all made a choice – what about you? 

Bei Dao’s poem “Living” consists of only one word: Net. It provokes the reader to ponder the concept of life as a “net” of different experiences.

The idea of life or “living” varies in different regions and across different times; even the word itself is rich in context, taking many forms within each person’s perception. That is why the poem “Living” and its idea of life as a “net” has inspired different interpretations among readers  Moreover, the widespread reach of the internet has encouraged a greater diversity of interpretation.

In this film, we take a look at the relationship between two interviewees’ life experiences and their depression; the poem’s appearance in the film’s opening provokes the audience to ponder the idea of life, and from that, the relationship between living and illness.

“The kid next door has always been the smartest.”

All my life, my mother has never paid me any compliments. She always talks about how good and smart the kid next door is, while I live in the shadows of other children. If I get anything less than full marks at school, she questions why I don’t do as well as the others. Fortunately, I have a close friend, San, who shares a similar story. Whenever I get an earful from my mother, I go to San for a chat, which never fails to lift my mood. But… it seems that San is moving away soon. What will I do? Am I going to be all alone? What’s waiting for me down the road?

The film is about a youth's life. We hope this movie will reach the hearts and souls of people watching it and realise how teenagers feel in their daily lives. We loved the experience of acting in this project. Through this movie, most of us could express our emotions and feel confidence. We also learned how to be creative with setting our scenes and got to learn new things from film-makers.

We all have experienced it and experienced it differently. It isn’t the kind of break up that you think. Break up is usually a negative term, but it can be more effective when we break up with harmful elements of our lives.

This concept and story are written by Micah in the year 2017. But the opportunity from British Council gave this story of turning into a short film. Thanks to our mentor Alberto for the lessons and guidance he has provided. It's been a wonderful experience and journey of teamwork, ideas sharing, and finding how different and difficult it is to bring the idea into reality. But together with the dream and team, we made it. We hope this short film will inspire you to break up with some negativity.