Welcome to Gobi

In a gritty industrial town nestled in the Gobi desert, three friends, Xiao Sichuan, Guokui, and Zhenhua, once worked side by side in the same factory. Now, grappling with their own personal struggles, they find themselves united by one common bond - a crushing debt looming over them like a dark cloud. As the deadline for repayment draws near, they must turn to cun and deception to keep their heads above water. Though they may be timid and prone to mistakes, they still possess a glimmer of decency in their hearts. But as the pressure mounts, they are slowly being pushed toward the brink of criminality. The town of Gobi, once a bastion of simplicity and hard work, is now a victim of the modern age. The constant bombardment of information from the outside world, from mines to blockchain technology, has left the people of Gobi feeling disconnected and forgotten. They are a small corner in a vast world, and as they struggle to keep pace with the changing times, they find themselves on the brink of being left behind.

Every time I went back to my hometown and dined with friends there, they would use many fancy words to comment on their lives and the world, trying their best to have some connection with the outside world. So I want to make a movie in memory of our bleak life and present the sense of ritual of northwest China's daily life. The movie is slow-paced, and depressing, with ridiculous stories and petty tricks inside, and I want to keep its literary film feeling.