Synopsis
Big Sponge is a young man living in a small town in western China who long ago left school and his parents, and struck out on his own. He wanders the streets, aimlessly getting through one long night after another. When he has a good mood, he will simply sing songs he likes. He lives a free but lonely life. Big Sponge loves rap music and he has great musical talent. He spreads his joys and disappointments in his music, but reality does not allow him to live a unique and successful life. He fell in love with a girl on the Internet, but she rejected him for being obese. His wandering life is finally out of control. Later, he was involved in a theft and got into a lawsuit. The pressure from the court case and the difficulties in life made it impossible for him to bear his current life any longer. In order to win a chance for his life, he begins to make some changes.
Zheng Yifei
A documentary filmmaker who has participated in the shooting and post-production of many short and feature-length documentary films. His first feature-length documentary film TRASHY BOY won “Most Promising Development Plan” at the 2019 West Lake International Documentary Festival’s Pitching Section.
Director's statement
TRASHY BOY records the inner struggles of a “troubled teenager” in a small town in
western China after gradually becoming disconnected from his school and family. Big Sponge suffered from Purpura in childhood, and the treatment led to obesity. During high school, he had a strained relationship with his parents and then left school. After falling in love with hip-hop music, he started to live in secluded places and only wandered around the streets late at night. He put his dissatisfaction and hope towards life into Freestyle music. When virtual relationships and livestreaming appeared in his life, he came into more trouble. The structure of society often unholds its picture in the spiritual realm of the individual in a very violent way. Under the isomorphic effect, the body had nowhere to escape, and the soul could hardly find inner peace. Big Sponge does not hesitate to protect his own world in a “frightening” way. In the Internet era, “Xiao Wu” always roams on sensitive and lonely nights. There will be another sun in the night that crowns him with gentle light.
