在1937年的纽约，17岁的理查德·萨缪尔一心想当演员，十分厌烦学校的生活。一个巧合的机会，他遇到了舞台导演奥逊·威尔斯，并加入了威尔斯导演的莎士比亚舞台剧《尤利乌斯·恺撒》的排演。在剧组，他遇到了也对舞台充满渴望的桑妮亚。理查德爱上了桑妮亚，但当向她表白时，桑妮亚却表示她愿意跟威尔斯在一起。他终于察觉桑妮亚为了实现她的舞台梦想而愿意与威尔斯进行性交易。理查德与威尔斯大吵了一架，并被驱逐出剧团。        突然有一天，威尔斯向他道歉，并邀请他重新加入剧团。在《尤利乌斯·恺撒》首演成功之夜，理查德明白了威尔斯的道歉只是为了保证首演的顺利进行，一个新的演员已经找到，并随时准备替换他。理查德再次离开剧团，他告之父母是由于薪水太少。理查德重新回到学校，并打算以后当一名编剧而不是演员。

1971年印第安纳州麦迪逊小镇，俄亥俄河港口完全经济下滑，其最后的骄傲是痴迷汽艇，破烂的旧百万富翁几十年前从未接近胜利。 与儿子迈克最忠实粉丝，空调修理工吉姆·麦考密克停止驾驶这一次几乎致命的事故之后，把他所有的空闲时间，拒绝职业机会那将意味着迁徙，作为他的妻子，当她认识到镇上要举办汽艇比赛需要融资50000美元。

“Essay, a term from written literature: unity of science and art; unity of social and individual knowledge,” Harun Farocki wrote in a first draft of the project Erzählen. The film follows two people (played by Engström and Farocki) investigating their respective subjects: one is tracing the involvement of the German heavy industry in the rise of Nazi-Germany, the other is interested in the fate of Larissa Reissner, a young Soviet writer and revolutionary. Both of them struggle with the question of how to organize their research and find a narrative structure. Their paths cross, and the film turns into an essayistic interrogation of structuralist narratology.

正太少年James在不河蟹的家庭阴影下，内心孤独的生活着。他的老师是唯一能给他精神寄托的soul mate，可是... （本片多处场景拍摄于贝尔法斯特女王大学内，大家可以不顺便欣赏纯洁的北爱风景）

本片根据真实故事改编，叛逆的少年詹姆士·伯恩斯因为加入街区团伙暴行被关进了最高防备监狱，在狱中他与一位杀人犯成为了朋友，这段友谊改变了他的人生……

Synopsis 　　The city’s loneliness is immense for James, an Indigenous teenager fighting to preserve his happiness and innocence amidst the urban vastness. As he struggles not to feel abandoned, he begins to realize that forging his path requires him to trample on others. 　　Director’s statement 　　The short film James explores a young man’s transition from childhood to adulthood as he navigates a male-dominated environment. The narrative delves into his silence and the violence he turns to in search of happiness. We collaboratively developed the dialogues to create a realistic context with casual conversations that reveal the characters’ personal anecdotes and aspirations. I prefer working with “natural actors”—people with no experience in front of the camera, but who bring all their knowledge and experiences to their characters. James Maldonado, the film’s lead, is unique as I’ve known him since he was six. In James, he perfectly conveys his character’s internal struggles, the feelings of helplessness and anger, and his emerging understanding of the world.

三个毛头小贼闯入森林中的一处独立小屋，面对着孤身一人守候于此的詹姆士大叔，这里究竟是可以大赚一笔的世外桃源？还是随时丧命的恐怖魔窟？

Synopsis 　　The city’s loneliness is immense for James, an Indigenous teenager fighting to preserve his happiness and innocence amidst the urban vastness. As he struggles not to feel abandoned, he begins to realize that forging his path requires him to trample on others. 　　Director’s statement 　　The short film James explores a young man’s transition from childhood to adulthood as he navigates a male-dominated environment. The narrative delves into his silence and the violence he turns to in search of happiness. We collaboratively developed the dialogues to create a realistic context with casual conversations that reveal the characters’ personal anecdotes and aspirations. I prefer working with “natural actors”—people with no experience in front of the camera, but who bring all their knowledge and experiences to their characters. James Maldonado, the film’s lead, is unique as I’ve known him since he was six. In James, he perfectly conveys his character’s internal struggles, the feelings of helplessness and anger, and his emerging understanding of the world.

三个毛头小贼闯入森林中的一处独立小屋，面对着孤身一人守候于此的詹姆士大叔，这里究竟是可以大赚一笔的世外桃源？还是随时丧命的恐怖魔窟？

孙淳在里面演罗逸民，是申花制衣厂的厂长，毕业于杭大，史兰芽演他的妻子，叫雷真，是申花厂上面集团公司老总的女儿。高曙光演的宋忆宁和李颖演的叶玲与罗逸民是同学，以前叶玲与罗逸民是情侣，叶玲和罗逸民家境都不好，后来因为富家小姐雷真的介入关系破裂了，而高曙光演的宋忆宁一直都喜欢叶玲。毕业后叶玲和宋忆宁在一家日资企业樱花公司工作，宋忆宁是总经理，叶玲是副总，他们公司也是制作衬衣的，与申花厂竞争很激烈。里面还反映了国企工人下岗的情况。还有一些私营企业主做非法生意，雷真与罗逸民也经常吵架，最后一时鬼迷心窍，做了违法的事，虽然站出来自首了，也难逃法律制裁，雷真最后坐牢了，而罗逸民与叶玲最终也没能在一起，他等着雷真出狱，叶玲最后终于接受了等候自己多年的宋忆宁。