Apple’s 2021 New Year’s short film “Ah Nian” tells a story about growing up of a little girl, Ah Ting, in a mountain village. Her parents, in order to guard their child, Ah Ting, for fear that she would be in danger in the mountains, say that there are yearly beasts in the mountains that eat children, but in reality, the yearly beasts Ah Ting encounters are not what she imagines, but it’s pure in its heart – Not wanting to eat children, but only wanting to eat rice cakes, the little girl hands over the rice cakes, and later, she becomes friends with the Year Beast, playing and growing up with it from childhood to adulthood.
At the end of the movie, on New Year’s Eve, when the village is filled with firecrackers and fireworks, Ah Ting brings Nian, who has summoned up courage, to the village, but Nian is so frightened by the firecrackers and fireworks that he turns around and runs away.
Behind the beast of Nian, what is insinuated is actually the fear of the unknown in the hearts of the previous generation and the worry about their children going out, but in reality, the reality of the situation may be the occurrence of a strange encounter and full of infinite new possibilities.
The movie is directed by Wang Ziyi and shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max.
2021 / China / Short Film / Wang Ziyi / Yang Enyi Song Danyang
Plot Synopsis:
Apple’s 2021 New Year’s Eve microfilm “A Nian” | “Don’t Tell Her” director Wang Ziyi directed the film, which is still shot on iPhone.
Unlike Apple’s previous Chinese New Year short films, this one does not have a tear-jerking plot, but instead tells a slightly fantastical story, presenting the warmth of a little girl celebrating the New Year with her parents.
