30. Okt. – 2. Nov. 2025
BEYOND Festival

The story tells how the Ostrich Express Company diverts conflict by portraying imaginary enemies and inciting conflict among its employees.

I have found many similar stories in the history of mankind. It still appears in the news, movies, games, and in my personal experiences. The Aztecs believed they had to sacrifice people to keep the world running. If they didn’t, the sun would stop rising, crops would die, and disasters would come. The medieval church claimed buying "indulgences" would save believers from suffering in hell. Trump says a "Deep State" is stopping America from being great again. People filled with fear and paranoia always imagine someone trying to steal their perfect dream. So they unite, ready to destroy anything to protect it. But the truth? The thing they fear might not even exist. And deep down, they’re just fighting for their own power and gain.

One of my inspirations is the dilemma of Chinese delivery workers. The system asks deliverymen to deliver efficiently for an unreasonable amount of time, sometimes set to deliver multiple orders over a period of time. They often ignore traffic rules to meet targets, as money is deducted if customers complain about overtime. This makes the situation even more difficult for delivery workers, who already have an unstable income and lack social welfare. The conflict is often between the consumer and the delivery person. Consumers feel that delivery men don't meet their time commitments. The delivery person thinks that the consumer doesn't understand their situation at all. The system as a coordinator is often overlooked.

Another major source of inspiration was George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. When you want to manipulate a group of people, one of the ways to do it is to tie your needs to their fears. They are afraid that their interests will be damaged, and that fear will eventually turn into hatred. A group of people with similar needs get together to form a fanatical collective, and when you say that an ostrich can run faster than a cheetah, they will believe it.

Director Biography - Anson Tianchen Zhu

An animation student graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University