Ben Niao

For the sake of her absent mother, 16-year-old Lynn attempts to get into the local police academy. Meanwhile, she keeps her head above water financially by getting caught up in some shady business involving stolen cell phones. When her only friend May suddenly stops being in touch, the introverted student is haunted by the feeling that her life is spiralling out of control. Money is an all-pervasive topic in her environment. Surrounded by corruption, sexual violence and the omnipresence of new media, Lynn searches for a path through the labyrinth of the present. Precise images tell a story of the isolation and lack of perspective prevalent in a small city in today's China. (Berlinale)