Strict control over behavior, complete freedom for thought—that shaped his creative life
Bi Gan argues that respecting viewers means honoring their subconscious, not their tastes—the first half's obstacles stay because the struggle to reach the payoff creates something direct arrival never could.
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Strict control over behavior, complete freedom for thought—that shaped his creative life
Bi Gan's grandmother had a strong personality and strict control over life's details—manners, sleep schedules, all had to follow her rules. But when it came to what he wanted to read or play, she never restricted him. Bi Gan says this was a strange phenomenon, and he can't fully explain why, but this 'discipline the body, free the mind' parenting style left him introverted and formal in behavior, yet never considering 'what rules I should follow' in his thinking. He believes without his grandmother, he wouldn't be who he is today.
— Bi GanHe wanted to write a savage review of Tarkovsky—until he understood Stalker
In college, Bi Gan encountered Tarkovsky's Stalker. The gap between the critical consensus ('greatness incarnate') and his complete incomprehension made him suspect the film was flawed, not his understanding. He says the only time in his life he wanted to write a review was to trash this movie—but you have to have some rules about it, you have to finish and understand it first. After nearly two weeks of watching, in the final moments, he was struck: film could use the camera to address ultimate questions, something he'd never thought about cinematically before. He was eating in the cafeteria when it hit him mid-bite.
— Bi GanShort films taught him nothing about holding a feature together for sixty interlocking scenes
When making his thesis film Tiger with nearly ten thousand yuan from his aunt, Bi Gan discovered that short-film experience was useless—a short is one or two scenes, while a feature has sixty scenes supporting each other. He couldn't grasp the scale of work, and fell into a half-abandoned state, shooting material he didn't understand. In the end, he threaded together passages of his own poetry as voiceover to connect the disconnected parts, accidentally creating a new texture. The film won an award at Nanjing Film Festival anyway, even though the selection committee said 'the focus isn't even correct.'
— Bi GanHe shoots real long takes—not because he must, but because the temptation is irresistible
Bi Gan says what makes long takes truly moving isn't the technical metric of 'whether it's shot live'—seamless editing can be invisible to audiences. But once you have the chance to bind time and film together permanently, that temptation is overwhelming for the whole crew. True seamless editing requires a dedicated post-production plan; it's far from just tossing glitches to visual effects. That's why the VFX supervisor on Wild Years actually treasured working with him—because he'd shoot extra material just for visual effects rather than throwing problems at post-production.
— Bi GanHonor what audiences don't consciously know they want, not what they say they prefer
Bi Gan explains why Roadside Picnic's slow first-half obstacles can't be simplified: they're a language themselves. When recombined into emotion in the second half, they activate the audience's own complex lived experience, not philosophical 'understanding.' He believes truly respecting the audience means trusting them to assemble the puzzle themselves, not catering to their desire for smooth pacing. It's like aiming for sunrise: the climb is more important and memorable than the view. A cable car straight to the top is something entirely different.
— Bi GanOne change in how stories reach people multiplied a niche film's audience a hundredfold
Before Roadside Picnic's release, the marketing team predicted 500,000 yuan in ticket sales—'getting it into theaters was already a long shot.' Bi Gan guessed 7 million and was told he'd lost his mind. Opening day brought 1.5 million; it closed with over 6 million. He later realized it wasn't the film that changed—the era did. Traditional journalists migrated en masse to become social-media film critics, establishing a distribution channel that didn't previously exist, suddenly amplifying the odds that a niche art film would be seen.
— Bi GanReal film industry is anti-industrial: add time for thinking, not efficiency for shooting faster
When making The Last Night on Earth, Bi Gan first encountered formal industrial workflow and was deeply uncomfortable with it—until making Wild Years did it click: conventional film industry logic is 'cut costs, raise efficiency'—adding workers saves money if it costs less than shooting one more day. But art is the opposite. Time saved through industrialization should go toward deeper thinking and better work, not be silently redirected by the production system toward the next shoot. This realization was the most important lesson in his transition from guerrilla filmmaker to professional.
— Bi GanShort video isn't a storytelling problem—it's an addiction architecture that hijacks human nature
Facing the question of whether film is dying and micro-dramas matching film's box office, Bi Gan's view: film's problem is distance between storytellers and audience—fixable. But short video isn't a narrative tool problem; it's an addiction mechanism that's 'perfectly suited to human nature.' He refuses to install TikTok-like apps because once he starts, he'd be glued to it every day. It's objectively unhealthy, yet happening at massive scale.
— Bi GanIn their own words · checked verbatim
Because when you attack something, you still need some rules—you have to finish reading it completely, understand it before you criticize. Once you understand it, the criticism hits so much harder.
因为骂人还是要有点规矩 一定要把他给读完 弄明白了再骂 弄明白了再骂 而且弄明白了会骂得特别的解气
Bi Gan41:19
But you have the chance—especially early on, making Roadside Picnic and then Earth, the opportunity is there—to bind your film to time itself, permanently. The temptation is overwhelming. For the whole crew.
但是你有机会 特别是早期的时候 拍野餐到拍地球也是一样 你有机会 时时的和电影 永远的捆绑在一起 这诱惑力太强了 对整个剧组的诱惑力都很强
Bi Gan1:35:53
Because truly respecting the audience means respecting their subconscious, not their preferences. Respecting the subconscious means acknowledging they're people with complex life experiences.
因为真正的尊重观众 是尊重观众的潜意识 不是尊重观众的喜好 因为尊重观众的潜意识 代表着观众是有复杂生命经验的一个人
Bi Gan1:45:00
If you want to make a film, make a film. There's no 'how-to'—making a film is just making a film. Especially in this era.
你想拍电影就去拍电影 拍电影这件事情不需要怎么办 拍电影就是拍电影 尤其这个时代
Bi Gan2:18:16
This is what real industry looks like. True film industry is anti-industrial. Industry itself is cost-cutting and efficiency. It's just adding more people.
这件事情是真正的工业 真正的电影工业就是反工业的 它工业就是降本增效 就是多加几个人
Bi Gan2:32:27
It's unhealthy. That's objective. Yes. But for something unhealthy to happen at this scale—that's even worse.
它不健康 这是一个客观的 是 但不健康 却如此的发生这件事情 更不健康
Bi Gan3:16:08
Figures
| Roadside Picnic music rights cost | approximately 500,000 yuan | 1:31:50 |
| Roadside Picnic total production cost | over one million yuan | 2:02:05 |
| Roadside Picnic opening-day box office | 1.5 million yuan | 2:05:06 |
| Roadside Picnic long take duration | 42 minutes | 1:32:51 |
| Aunt's funding for Tiger | 10,000 yuan | 1:01:26 |
| Wild Years vampire long-take shots | shot 4-5 times, approximately 3 usable takes | 3:00:48 |
How to listen
Creators interested in narrative structure, long-take aesthetics, and art-film business logic; and anyone who wants to understand that 'setting obstacles' and 'lowering barriers' are two different approaches to experience design.
0:00–5:00, opening small talk and early family background; character sketch material with low information density.