Bi an

They are about twenty years old. There are fourteen of them from provinces all over China and they have experienced an event which has marked them for life: the production of the play Bi An (The Other Shore) under the direction of MOU Sen at the Peking Institute of Drama in Spring 1993. After being totally taken up with the problems of this innovative and disturbing work, after receiving acclaim for their performances, they suddenly find themselves out of work, without accommodation, and deprived of the exciting prospect of working with MOU Sen again. It is a harsh initiation into adulthood, after the pipe dreams of their teenage years so well portrayed in the Other Bank, with its evocation of painful sacrifices for an ideal beyond reach. Back home in the provinces, they give expression to their dreams, disappointments and hopes in front of the camera. The portrait of a certain category of young Chinese living in difficult conditions, the film also reveals their expectations as artists vis-à -vis society.