BEIJING, Jan. 16,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- iQIYI has announced on
Jan. 17 that original Chinese series
Why Try To Change Me Now has been selected for the Berlinale
Series section of the 73rd Berlin
International Film Festival, making it the first Chinese language
drama series to be chosen for this section. As a selected series,
it will also be competing for the inaugural Berlinale Series
Award.
Why Try To Change Me Now features a team of top-notch
creators of modern Chinese cinema, including Yinan Diao as Executive Producer, Dalei Zhang as
the Director and Writer, with the story adopted from Xuetao Shuang's novel Moses On the Plain. Headlined by
Zijian Dong, the series stars a
stellar cast such as Qing Hai, Tian
Qiu, Baoshi Dong and more.
Yinan Diao had previously
clinched the prestigious Golden Bear
award for the Best Picture at 2014 Berlinale with his previous
directorial work Black Coal, Thin Ice. Writer-Director Dalei
Zhang's debut film The Summer Is Gone was the Best Feature
Film winner at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards.
Wang Xiaohui, Chief Content
Officer at iQIYI, shared: "The show has rewritten history for our
industry bagging nomination as the first Chinese language drama
series from the world's leading film festival and awards. As one of
our key content directions, we strive to revamp the storytelling to
shed light on the lives of the small fry against the macro
environment. This is a recognition given to modern Chinese drama by
the international community, and a testament to iQIYI's continued
commitment to creativity and innovation. I hope that more
outstanding works from Chinese entertainment can continue to be
seen by the world. I am beyond thankful to Xuetao Shuang, the author of the original story,
Executive Producer Yinan Diao, Director Dalei Zhang and the entire
production team for coming up with this series that invites viewers
to reflect on the relationship between ourselves and the age we
live in."
Director and screenwriter Zhang said: "I am grateful to iQIYI
for giving a young director like myself a chance to create a series
like this with so much freedom, and for the opportunity to
translate one of my favourite works of literature onto the screen.
I hope that the series can serve as a time capsule that viewers can
walk into, and spend time with the characters."
Executive Producer Diao said: "Despite being young in age, Dalei
has an old soul for retro Chinese pop culture especially C-pop,
film and television from Hong Kong
and Taiwan. With Why Try To
Change Me Now, he approaches the series like he is filming a
movie, and has overcome various challenges in the production cycle
and resources. While watching the final work, it felt like we were
enjoying a hotpot, so many wonderful things were encapsulated in
one show, a surprise came with every few bites we took. The
Berlinale Series is a well deserved recognition for Why Try To
Change Me Now and has cemented its place in history. I am
ecstatic for Dalei and Xuetao, and I applaud iQIYI's foresight and
support for this series."
The plot of Why Try To Change Me Now unearths a taxi
driver's murder case from many years back. Dong Zijian plays a
rebellious youth turned policeman who finds himself left in charge
of a case which has resurfaced from seven years ago. Upon
investigation, he finds out that the evidence gathered points
towards his neighbour's, a father and daughter duo whom he has fond
childhood memories of. Eventually, he discovers a key piece of
evidence – a cigarette butt – which makes him gravely realise
that he may have been involved in this tragic crime of the
past.
Why Try To Change Me Now has emerged as Berlinale's first
nominated Chinese drama series in the Berlinale Series section
since it was introduced in 2015. It will be competing alongside six
other international titles for the inaugural Berlinale Series
Award. The series will premiere globally on iQIYI
(www.iq.com and app).
CONTACT: iQIYI Press,
press@qiyi.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iqiyi-original-drama-why-try-to-change-me-now-selected-for-berlinale-series-301723010.html
SOURCE iQIYI