Golden Goblet Awards Entry | Documentary "All In": Support Each Other and Move Forward After the Trauma

The entry for Golden Goblet Awards for documentary this year "All In" held a press briefing on June 12, director Zhou Hao and producer He Shan attended the event. The film focuses on two middle-aged people who have suffered psychological trauma, and records their search for self-salvation.

Talking about the original intention of filming "All In”, Zhou Hao expressed his hope that this work can arouse everyone's attention to psychological trauma. But whether it is a feature film or a documentary film, domestic attention to this type of subject matter is still in lack.

Zhou Hao revealed that they spent a whole year in the preliminary research and finally identified two subjects in the film-the Qingdao psychological counselor Tong Meimei from a unfortunate family, and the Taipei mime performer Yao Shangde who had suffered sexual assault. For many years, although they have been troubled by trauma problems, they believe that they should speak up for people who are suffering from similar pain.

The shooting did not go as smoothly as expected. The intervention of the filming team inevitably led to the flashback of their trauma, and they showed a state of "resistance". The director was forced to show up from behind the camera and get involved in this inescapable dialogue.

Walking from behind the camera to in front of the camera, this kind of creative technique also appeared in Zhou Hao's previous works, and caused a heated discussion in the documentary circle at that time. Producer He Shan explained that as the shooting progresses, the protagonists’ “old wounds” will inevitably be touched, “We were careful with every step, for fear of causing secondary hurt to them, so every time during the shooting process, we all needed to discuss and explore together with the protagonists." The English name of the film "All In" is based on this creative concept. He Shan said: "This not only represents the complete honesty of the one being filmed, but also also represents the full commitment of the filming team, the all effort by all participants."

"Life seems to have a choice, but in fact every choice is the only one. In life, there will always be problems of this kind or that. When they come, you have to deal with it. This is the insight from me, a 50-year-old man. There are many things that cannot be avoided, and facing it is our only way.” Zhou Hao said that he hopes that through this documentary, more audiences can think about: “After the trauma, we should stay together to warm up each other. Support and move forward."