The write stuff

"I read lots of real stories about missing children, which portray the family reunion," Fu says. "But I am curious about what happens after they meet up years later. How do they deal with their relationships? How do they move on with their lives?

"With the script, I want to explore the generation gap and people's changes after growing up. I wrote it as a tragedy, based on some real events."

The script offered originality in the eyes of Guan Bo, one of the judges of the Jindouyun scriptwriting competition, initiated and organized by Talent Organization, a Beijing-based cultural company.

"When I read Fu's script, I was surprised to see how a young man portrays a family with a missing boy. He is keen on observing life and displays his imagination thoroughly with this story," says Guan, also a scriptwriter and deputy director of the production team of the National Center for the Performing Arts. Generally such scripts end with a happy reunion, Guan adds, but Fu focuses more on revealing the subsequent emotional struggles and complexity of the reception among family members and how everyone adapts to the new situation.

According to Fu Ruoyan, founder and general manager of Talent Organization, the competition started this April, when theaters were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Though all the performances were put on hold, the competition's organizers still want to encourage young scriptwriters to create new work.