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Beijing Film Market|The 11th Beijing International Film Festival Shooting of Shortlisted Pitching Project Fake Bro Kicks off

The shooting of Fake Bro (formerly known as Between Each Other), a project competing in the Project Pitches at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), started in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province in June 2022.

The film narrates a funny and romantic noir story. A socially underprivileged “street ruffian” poses as a “chivalrous man” to help a “troublesome teenager” who is also in trouble to demand payment of a debt and cheat him out of money. Unexpectedly, the relationship of “tie-in against the enemy” between the two underdogs gradually generates trust and friendship, and the street ruffian starts to fall into self-contradiction, swaying between good and evil. The trajectory of their lives has changed dramatically. The story is a profound reflection on the complexities of human nature in contemporary society, and is a commercially and artistically valuable film.

A still of Fake Bro

Fake Bro was shortlisted for the Project Pitches at the 11th BJIFF in 2021. When the project entered the second-round selection stage of the Project Pitches, the jury affirmed the project and also pointed out the problems, ranging from the text to project implementation, from a professional perspective. Being shortlisted for the BJIFF Project Pitches not only increased the influence of the project in the industry, but also facilitated the project to start quickly, director Liu Peng said. The suggestions made by the jury members made the production team aware of what’s problem with the project in itself, and targeted solutions were made to improve the quality of the film. Although the film was shot on a small budget, it still had to ensure a professional production process. Most importantly, the recognition of the project from the jury has strengthened the determination of all cast and crew to overcome difficulties and push the project forward. During this special time, all the cast and crew kept themselves in tip-top shape and treated the production as an important link in materializing their ideal of artistic creation.

Group photo of the cast and crew at the 11th BJIFF – Project Pitches

As a realistic noir comedy film, character portraying and performance are at the top of the list of the project. It is understood that in order to make the film generate more empathy, the director found actors who “don’t look like actors”. The production team still prepared in both Beijing and Hengdian and started casting six months in advance, even though the production budget was extremely limited. To unify the acting style of the actors, the team overcame many difficulties to bring the eight actors with the most parts to the shooting location, two months before the start of shooting, for 18 days of deskwork (including experiencing life, table-read, rehearsals). This aimed to ensure the actors had sufficient time to get themselves into their roles and integrate into the life depicted in the play. During this process, the team also re-edited the script based on the actors’ performances, allowing all the members to build a unified creative consciousness and complete the sublimation from text to life. The cast and crew also identified all the comedic rhythm points in this process to expand the breadth of its appeal.

In addition, the cast & crew also made all the storyboards according to the actors’ rehearsals and scenes before the start of shooting. To save costs, some of the scenes and props were built and processed by the cast and crew themselves, and they still did everything possible to ensure the presentation of the film under the limited budgetary conditions.

The shooting site of Fake Bro

Fake Bro is a film created by all the cast and crew in earnest, with the hope of presenting a well-crafted film full of passion and reflections.

Turn stories into films. The BJIFF will move forward together with more young filmmakers. For more details, please visit the official website of the BJIFF: www.bjiff.com.

You can truly find great projects at the BJIFF.

Cooperative Consultation:

Project Pitches of the Beijing International Film Festival-Beijing Film Market

Email: projectpitches@bjiff.com

Tel: +86 18500377391, +86 15510010851