By CCTV.com Panview editor team
Editor’s foreword: "Looking China" International Youth Film Project is co-organized by the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture (AICCC), Beijing Normal University and Huilin Foundation, which aims to showcase the contrasting simplicity and glamour, the antiquity and fashion of China through unique perspectives of young foreign film makers.
As of the year 2016, 101 students from 25 countries were invited to participate in the project. They were stationed in 13 municipality, provinces and autonomous regions here in China. Every filmmaker has worked out a 10-minute short film about Chinese culture around the topic of “ethnic minority”.
The film, Homes of Childhood, directed by Ivana Balazova follows Chinese adults who continue collecting toys, despite their age. The avid toy collectors hold fond memories of their childhoods and prefer to stay a child in spirit.
One Chinese adult male living in a hutong in Beijing is married, with a young daughter. His home is cluttered with thousands of tin toys.
The camera crew also visits The World Toys Club, a museum with the largest global collection of used toys on display. Those interviewed were Chinese adult males, who collected mainly toys, similar to Transformers.
As a trend, it appears Transformers are very popular. Perhaps, transformers could symbolize China’s transition from a State-run economy to a more free market society. The transformation faced numerous challenges, but worth the effort.
One could consider the act of collecting as a sign of prosperity in China’s economy. One cannot collect, unless they can afford it, or that could lead to enormous debt.
Yet, the video does not answer the question, how does the toy collector purchase so many tin toys. Did he accumulate debt in pursuit of the passion? One is left to wonder.
(The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com)
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