Little Precious

The title of Yilin´s short film, Xiao Baobei / Little Precious, was taken from a popular Chinese song that his protagonist uses as a ringtone. This is a little story full of fine nuances: Xiao Bao, a young man, has come to Beijing. He was motivated not so much by a desire for social advance and personal success as a wish to earn a little money, enough to satisfy his modest wants, namely a roof over his head, food and drink, and occasional amusement. He lives with his cousin and the other man´s wife in a simple apartment and is in love with the waitress at a plain little restaurant. To keep the wolves from the door, Xiao Bao sells — normally with very little success — ice cream and mineral water in Xiangshan Park, a nature preserve northwest of Beijing that is frequented mostly by Chinese tourists. But the competition among ice-cream salesmen is fierce, and Xiao Bao doesn´t have to wait long for the trouble to start. His cousin has to bail him out of jail for a hefty sum of money, and Xiao Bao has personal difficulties too: It soon turns out the waitress isn´t interested in him. Remarkably, Xiao Bao remains in the capital city, undaunted by his luckless start. In a beautiful intermezzo he and some friends sing an old song that´s characterized by resignation. Yilin, born in China and now a student at Vienna´s Film Academy, manages to present a spectrum of emotions in only 24 minutes thanks to careful timing and a sensitive narrative style, and as a result Xiao baobei is in no sense a portrayal of frustration. The relatively open ending permits room for interpretation, and also a little bit of optimism with regard to Xiao Bao´s future. The chic turquoise high heels that the young man steals impulsively just might play an important role.
(Andreas Ungerböck)

Orig. Title
Xiao Baobei
Year
2011
Countries
Austria, China
Duration
24 min
Director
C.B. Yilin
Category
Fiction
Orig. Language
chinese
Subtitles
English
Downloads
Little Precious (Image)
Credits
Director
C.B. Yilin
Script
C.B. Yilin
Cinematography
Yi Seungwoo
Camera Assistant
Dong Jun
Editing
C.B. Yilin
Sound
Hjalti Bager-Jonathansson
Sound Design
Hjalti Bager-Jonathansson
Dramaturgical Advisor
Di Shen
Production
Ulrike Knieser
Actor/Actress
Zheng Xue, Huang Rong, Wang Giangsheng, Liu Dongren, Mao Binran, Huang Lu, Cai Libao, Wu Bing
Art Direction
Yuan Feng
Costumes
Ulrike Knieser
Props
Xu Shifu
Make-Up
Su Xi
Executive Producer
C.B. Yilin
Production Assistance
Yu Xiao
Translation
Christian Leitner
Available Formats
Digital File (prores, h264) (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound Format
Dolby digital
Frame Rate
25 fps
Color Format
colour
Festivals (Selection)
2011
Graz - Diagonale, Festival des Österreichischen Films
Bergamo - Cortopotere Int. Film Festival
Istanbul - Int. Short Film Festival
Winterthur - Kurzfilmtage
2012
Angers - Premiers Plans
Clermont-Ferrand - Festival de Court Metrage