Chinese superstar Jackson Yee (Better Days) attracted a huge crowd to the world premiere of the film Big World on November 2, where it played in the Competition section of the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival. The actor took to the stage for a post-screening Q&A session amid much joyful screaming from the audience, with six women who are very important to the film: director Yang Lina, screenwriter You Xiaoying, producer Isabella Yin and actors Diana Lin, Jiang Qinqin and Zhou Yutong.
 
There was an electrical current of excitement running through the audience, which had burst into spontaneous applause three times during the film’s end credits, and one can only imagine the same thing occurring in theaters around the globe, as Big World spreads its message of resilience, tolerance and hope to receptive audiences everywhere.
 
Yang, who has also made award-winning documentaries, has directed a film for the ages, with characters that will live in the memories of viewers forever. Jackson Yee gives a tour-de-force performance, one that is incredibly nuanced and fully committed, as Chunhe, a 20-year-old man with cerebral palsy (CP), a motor disability that affects the way he moves and talks, but has not impacted his brain at all. We know this almost immediately, when Chunhe is invited to give a lecture to a class of kids (he desperately wants to be a teacher, and is hoping to study Chinese Literature at a prestigious Normal University). It’s a killer lecture, demonstrating his incredible depth of knowledge, his heart of a poet and his ability to charm even those who at first laugh at him.
 
But Chunhe is constantly being reminded of his disability, and if it weren’t for his doting, outspoken grandmother (played like a firecracker by Diana Lin of The Farewell), he may not have the wherewithal to endure the “gazes of pity, of fear, of disgust” that always surround him. The relationship between the two is unshakeable and enormously amusing, and when Chunhe opens his heart to others for the first time, grandma encourages him. And boy, does he… until his chilly, disapproving mother (Jiang Qinqin of Dwelling by the West Lake) steps in and reminds him that he will never, ever achieve his dreams.
 
TIFF Programming Director Ichiyama Shozo began the Q&A session by asking the director what had inspired her to tell this particular story. “The idea came from the producer, who suggested that I direct it,” said Yang. “I had to do quite a bit of research and find out a lot about cerebral palsy. The main crew of the film are all highly skilled and their efforts allowed me to make the film as authentic and natural as possible, making it a story about family.”
 
Asked how difficult it had been to prepare for and get into the role, Yee responded, “I did a lot of research, and watched a lot of videos. Since this takes place in the western part of the country, I met many people in that area and learned from people with CP how I should portray them. I recorded all this and continued to work on the character to make him believable.”
 
Diana Lin, looking years younger than her character, talked about her own preparation. “About two weeks before we started shooting, I went to the location and learned the accent in the area, and also research CP and how the families of people with CP felt and coped with it. I learned what typical family relationships were like. Some of the people I worked with in the film were locals and I watched them for tips on how to convincingly act like one of them.”
 
Noting that she looked completely different from her character in last year’s Dwelling by the West Lake, which had premiered at TIFF 2023, Ichiyama asked Jiang about her experience preparing for a different type of mother for Big World. She agreed, “These two mothers are completely different characters. The mother in West Lake was quite normal, but in Big World, she is living a more realistic life. In her relationship with Chunhe, I felt it was like if the two of them were hugging in cold weather, and the strength of her hug was too strong, her son would start bleeding. But if we didn’t warm each other, he would freeze. So my character is a suffocating mother. In the end, she finds happiness and she’s able to liberate the feelings she has for her son.”
 
Zhou plays the ebullient frisbee player Yaya in the film, and when she was asked what her experience had been like, she said, “I talked with the writer and director about my role, and that’s how I created it. When I got to the location, I had to learn how to throw a frisbee, as well as the ways of life in that area, so that I could blend in with the others. The director is very kind and very free. She never told us exactly what to do, but instead gave suggestions and was very open.”
 
Asked by Ichiyama if she was always open and free when she directed, Yang said, “I want to point out that I was working with really talented actors. Jackson completely became the character; it wasn’t even acting any more. The crew were stunned with what he did with the character, just speechless. And the relationship with his mother and grandmother, he just did such an incredible job. I’m so grateful.”
 
Q&A Session: Competition
Big World
Guests: Yang Lina (Director), Jackson Yee (Actor), Diana Lin (Actor), Jiang Qinqin (Actor), Zhou Yutong (Actor),Isabella Yin (Producer), You Xiaoying (Screenplay)