Game Dream
North American Premiere 
Documentary | Hong Kong | 2008 | 59 minutes
Director: Tan Tan
Producer: Ben Tsiang
Language: Mandarin + English subtitles
Produced by CNEX Foundation
One morning in Beijing, a group of young people in their early 20′s are crammed in an apartment flat to start their battling day, a battle of online game. The place is neither an Internet café nor home to anyone
of them; it is a private studio that makes profit from these young kids.
Synopsis
This documentary reveals a harsh but hidden reality of the life of marginalized youth in contemporary urban China.
Most of these kids come from poor families. Private studios are the places where they can make money while playing games. They all have bosses who are not much older than them. They are working day and night in the virtual world; however in reality, their life cannot be simpler. When it is the time to eat, they eat take-away food in front of their computers and finish their dinner while playing games. Chinese New Year comes, and their bosses have all gone home. This is the time for family union in China, except for these young people, who are wandering among high-rises in this estranged city. The festive atmosphere seems to have nothing to do with them.
The hardship they are experiencing is beyond what we can imagine, but they hardly complain about it. The only thing they ask for is to be paid on time, so that they can provide money to their families or to make their beloved ones happier. Their dream is very simple and very practical.
Half a year later, the studio has to be closed down. What will happen to these young people, who are superheroes in the virtual reality, but so lost and frustrated in the muddy world of reality?
The Filmmaker
TAN TAN (Director)
Tan Tan is a multitalented filmmaker of documentary and experimental films, a musician, as well as a college teacher. She has made many documentaries and experimental films, and won several prizes internationally. She currently lives and works in Beijing.
Producer Ben Tsiang is in attendance.
