205 Strong Yet Broken (1/2)

The film trailer was finally released. If it were any other indie film, it wouldn't garner much attention. After all, most indie film productions didn't have the resources to widely promote their films unlike major production studios.

This film, however, wasn't just any other indie film. It had LX Productions as its backer. Although the film couldn't be promoted through traditional means like on TV or radio commercials, the web was another matter.

As soon as the trailer was released, it became top featured on video streaming websites. It also played as an online ad in all major websites. This kind of heavy promotion was something only major production companies could afford. It immediately caught people's attention.

The film was titled ”Strong Yet Broken”. It was based on a true story. A life story that was familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.

It was familiar because it featured the story of Guan Jintao, the blind Paralympian gold-medalist swimmer who was the most famous disabled athlete in the country. His fame rivalled that of famous Olympian athletes because his inspiring life story was already adapted into movies, documentaries, and books. He was undoubtedly a legend in the country.

Given his fame and influence, why then was this new film an indie one?

The answer was simple. The film wasn't about Guan Jintao. It was about the unfamiliar life story of his mother.

It seemed that major production studios weren't interested in making this film because the main character was a broken woman. It was, in simple terms, a very dark story.

Unlike the hopeful and triumphant adaptations of Guan Jintao's life story, this indie film about his mother heavily focused on the subject of dealing with depression after the death of a lover which morphed into postpartum depression that never really went away, eventually ending in suicide. It was the story of a woman desperately trying to stay strong for the sake of her disabled child when she was all broken inside from the death of her lover.

It was emotional, heavy, dark, and suffocating. An eerie sense of hopelessness and death permeated the story.

No major film production company wanted to make this kind of depressing film. Some of them expressed interest if more focus was given to Guan Jintao's character rather than on his mother, but doing so would change the essence of the story.

In the end, it could only be made into an indie film.

When people started watching the trailer, the reactions were mixed. Some were instantly drawn to it, while some were turned off by the dark tone. However, halfway through the trailer, their attentions were piqued once again.

An oddly familiar voice started singing familiar lyrics.

They finally realized what was going on.

The song was ”Phantom of Your Love” by Iris Long!