Apple has released its annual Chinese New year ad. This year the brand tapped Director Zhang Meng for a 23-minute short film shot on iPhone called “The Comeback.” The film celebrates the Year of the Tiger with the story of a father, a son, and a forgotten village with an “out-of-this-world dream.”
Shot on iPhone 13 Pro, with original music scored by Varqa Buehrer, the film was created in collaboration with TBWA Media Arts Lab Shanghai and is a movie about making a movie, that offers a dose of Hollywood sci-fi, traditional martial arts action, and a portion of feel-good comedy.
As Apple describes it:
“A young stunt-double, who dreams of being behind the camera not just in front of it, returns home for Chinese New Year to spend time with his father while nursing an injury and escaping his perceived failure.
The villagers celebrate his return as the ‘big director’ and he is reluctantly convinced to help the village create a movie of their own, to make their unknown village ‘internet famous.’
What it really does is bring the villagers together as they craft and create a movie set on Mars — writing the story, making costumes, building sets and setting up stunts — and reignites the young man’s belief in becoming a director and fulfilling his filmmaking dreams.”
Check it out:
The Comeback will be running on broadcast, digital, and social paid media in China, Singapore, and Malaysia and online for the rest of the world.
There is also a behind-the-scenes film as well.
