The Chameleon | Yongqi Zheng

When twilight turns into blackness, a chameleon slowly crawls out of its gap. Its appearance gradually emerges, but its heart is still cold.

This story is based on the murderer in the “Kidnapping and Murder of Yingying Zhang” case, which took place from June 9, 2017 to July 18, 2019.

CHARLIE, the protagonist, always has the same nightmare. His friend, ALAN, comes and visits him one night. They have an uncomfortable conversation and then hear the news of a kidnapping on the radio. Everything is strange – Charlie’s apartment and Alan. BEN, Charlie’s younger brother who has a mental illness, comes out from his bedroom and tells Charlie and Alan that he just murdered a girl. Charlie does not believe it, but after he sees the blood on Ben’s hands, he is angry and wants to call the police. However, everything is not as it seems. Ben is actually just in Charlie’s imagination. But if so, who killed the girl, and who is Alan? Is he really Charlie’s friend? The answer is waiting to be discovered.

Oriol Paulo once said in an interview, “I would go to bed reading mystery novels that kept me up all night until the enigma was solved. In a certain way, I try to bring that same feeling to my films.” That resonated with me. Film is a medium that uses stories to build emotions. In most mystery stories, the evil comes from humans. Being able to unfold the inner evils of the character brings me joy in filmmaking. As well, creating a complex story with an open ending allows audiences to question and leaves an impression.

I love to challenge myself. From writing my first suspense film to my latest suspense film, I tried to give more layers to the story – not just simply tell a bad guy story. Recently, I realized adapting a true story into a suspense drama leaves a deeper impression on the audience. It is a way to spread the true story and encourage the audience to pay attention long after my film has been screened. Generally speaking, films for me are a tool to express my thoughts to my audience.

Vicky Zheng is a Vancouver-based filmmaker from Guangdong, China, and graduated from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2020. She settled down in Vancouver in 2013 and became interested in taking photos and recording videos in this attractive city.

She is interested in discovering many different styles and looks in films. She loves narrative, fashion, and experimental films, and sometimes combines these three categories. She desires to create something new and special in her future films.

Vimeo:  https://vimeo.com/vickyzheng