By Vania Chan

Vania Chan is currently an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia. She is interested in culture, especially film and music, as well as social issues and the way in which these two elements relate to one another.

A LITTLE HIKE

FADE IN: Dialogue in Mandarin with English subtitles. An impoverished rural village in contemporary China. EXT. A SMALL WOODEN HOUSE – – DAY MAMA, a single mother of three children in her mid 30’s, walks along a dusty dirt road into a meek wooden house lugging a heavy pail of water. A shabby cloth hangs in the doorway in place of a door. INT. MAMA’S HOUSE – – DAY A one-roomed house furbished with a couple of fold-out chairs and a few pieces of old wooden furniture. One large wooden bed is in the far corner. WEI, Mama’s youngest son…