Child cancer film shows spirit of courage and humor

More than 20 years ago, director Wei Te-sheng heard a heart-wrenching statement from a young cancer patient whom he had interviewed.

The child shared that during his more than one year in a children's ward, he never encountered a child who did not want to live; each child believed they could overcome the illness and live a long life.

Deeply moved by this sentiment, which the director describes as embodying the power of life, Wei began producing a film centered on children with cancer in 2021.

The film, BIG, has been screening in Chinese mainland theaters since Saturday, becoming one of the highest-rated movies of this month.

Set within pediatric oncology ward No 816, with the figure being the Chinese title of the film, the story revolves around six children grappling with cancer. It follows how these youngsters, along with their families and the hospital staff, navigate the challenges of their diagnoses and treatments while still seeking moments of joy and hope in their lives.

During the Beijing premiere of the film on Oct 16, Wei expressed his hope that the movie would inspire strength in viewers, empowering them to face challenges with greater resilience.

An innovative feature of the film is its use of two-dimensional animation to depict the children's imaginary battle against cancer. In multiple scenes, the children morph into warriors to combat giants symbolizing the diseases.

Wei said that in producing the 2D animation sequences, he recruited a distinguished team, including Takumi Tanji, the art director behind Japanese director Makoto Shinkai's acclaimed films Your Name and Suzume, along with other talented individuals from Japan and Italy.

Currently, the film has won a high score at 8.0 points out of 10 on the country's popular review site Douban.