Following their destiny

Ren Yi directed the third episode called "answer sheet", which concentrates on people's relationship with the times.

"We benefit from the times, and in turn, the times ask us some questions. People in this episode hand in their answer sheets. Their answers may not be model answers, but are their personal answers, or may be the answers of a group of people they represent," says Ren.

She is impressed by the story of two gold traders with the Bank of China in Shanghai, who work at night to buy and sell gold in the hope of increasing the market activity of the Shanghai Gold Exchange and attract global capital.

"Some young people still feel confused about what they should do, but the two traders in the episode are very clear about what they are trying to achieve, and they feel honored to shoulder the responsibility. They are not afraid that a simple click can lead to the exchange of a large amount of money-may be enough to buy a house-and they remain stable, reliable and modest," says Ren.

"In some way, that is how they hand in their answers and repay the times, and that is a typical example of modern young Chinese people," she adds.

Besides the specific stories of individuals, crew members also interviewed a further 100 people they randomly found, asked them questions about their thoughts on life, and put short interviews together that feature throughout the documentary.

"When we discussed certain issues, the three specific stories in each episode sometimes seemed not to be enough. We wanted people to express their ideas on the topics at hand, so that we could expand upon them and cover them in a thorough way."

Filming started in 2019, and the crew traveled to many places in China in just half a year, but work was suspended due to the outbreak of COVID-19. They resumed filming this year, which lasted about two months. The production is set to be broadcast overseas as well, according to Fan.

"It's very difficult to make a documentary about ordinary people, since their stories don't often have a great deal of drama, and they don't have the popularity of celebrities. But, after getting to know the many touching details in people's lives, I realize that everyone has untold stories, and they can be as compelling to people as the latest celebrity gossip," says Fan.