FADE IN TITLE Rent-a-Foreigner in China FADE TEXT CARD China’s real estate bubble has created empty developments all over the country FADE Shot of a lake with mountains in the background and trees in the foreground TEXT “On the Outskirts of Chongqing” Shot of a lake with mountains in the background and trees in the front ground followed by a pan to the right where two white men dressed in red uniforms and wearing bearskins are standing. Shot of a street in a (rural) Chinese city Shot of three men wearing red uniforms and bearskins walking towards the camera. Anna (VO) There are many places in China, especially remote places Where the houses are really overvalued. But there is this trick. Anna introducing two men in red uniforms and bearskins about their job at the event The host job is very easy - just standing. And when will the guests be coming? Hm, after 15 minutes. Anna sitting in a chair facing the camera explaining the situation followed by a brief montage of interested buyers, miniature models of the buildings and a shot of actual buildings. Once you put a foreigner out there, everything changes. It’s no longer some remote building built by an unknown developer. It becomes an international city of the future. FADE TEXT CARD FADE Tracking shot of Anna standing in a room with her back towards the camera. Tracking shot of Anna standing in a room with her front towards the camera. LOWER THIRD “Anna” Foreigner Agent Anna and a client are sitting in a room LOWER THIRD Client Real Estate Events Manager While looking at pictures on a computer, Anna and her client are having a conversation about the possibilities of hiring a foreigner and what the expenses are. If you want to raise the value of real estate, best to use a foreign face. Let me show you something: This customer even got a foreign bartender. Look, now it looks like a normal scene, right? But then... a foreigner comes. You think: “Wow! Now I’ve got something to be proud about, now I’m really somebody!” We have high, middle and low-grade ones. Now it’s true that the price of white people is expensive.. but it makes the place feel classier. And if you truly can’t squeeze out the funds... but still want to project an international atmosphere... I suggest using black people. They have a very open personality, yet are quite cheap. About 1,000 renminbi ($160). Do you have any Indians? We would need to look for them...we use them very rarely. If we use them would they be cheaper? About the same as blacks. Anna walking up the stairs of an exterior entrance followed by a montage of shots from a real estate gig Anna (VO) As an agent, what I’m doing is selling a type of cosmetics, It’s a pretty widespread belief if a foreigner is working at a new development or building or they get foreigners to perform the whole thing is bumped up to another level. Shot of two men dressed in red uniforms wearing bearskins each playing an instrument Montage of different buildings Anna sitting in a car looking out the window Anna (VO) Part of my work involves finding foreign actors. I have many spots where I go searching. Bars are a good spot for finding them. Anna is inside a bar getting information from a potential foreign performer Can he dance or play an instrument or something? Sing, perhaps? He can’t dance or do anything. I can drink lots of beer. That’s enough. Take one of these. Take a look at it. Anna is sitting elsewhere in the bar, writing down details on the man she just got the information of from Pretty... Decent body... Shots of different foreign performers getting their pictures taken by Anna and a photographer Anna (VO) How do you turn a regular foreigner into a professional performer? We go to a studio. We shoot them in a professional way. We tell them nonstop: “You’re a model now.” “You look gorgeous.” Then we create impressive background information about them. I have packaged them into many identities. Models, professors, athletes, singers. Shot of three white men getting ready for an estate gig, which Anna has hired them for Anna (VO - continued) A lot of real estate customers also like for foreigners to pretend to be their engineers. High angle shot of the top of buildings Anna arriving at an estate gig with two white men LOWER THIRD Real Estate Opening We, we go. Max! Chris! We go to third floor. (Chinese men welcome them in Chinese) (Chinese woman welcomes them in Chinese) So, go to the stage and then you come back to the door. The two white men are sitting down and discussing their purpose at the event In China you can be anything without any knowledge or education. If you’re from the West, you can be a doctor, you can be an actor, you can be a - - We’re all fake. - Yes, everything is fake. We just show up to give them a white face. The white men walk onto the stage in different outfits while the Chinese audiences are cheering Next is this handsome guy from America, Evan. He was a contestant on “America’s Next Top Model.” He was rated as a top 20 model in all of America. A Chinese woman standing at a podium, is welcoming the guests to the real estate opening What I want to tell everyone tonight is that the Zhongyang Central Estates... As you can see, they have a North American style. It is an international place. Therefore, it is “international.” A Chinese woman dressed in red is showing a potential male buyer around some buildings LOWER THIRD Potential buyer There are actually a good number of people out here. I always thought this area was a bit remote. But it seems OK. Shot of Anna’s face Anna (VO) The real value of a house or any product doesn’t really matter. As long as there is a good image people will be willing to buy. For the time being... ...the image has become the reality. Drone shot of Britishville Tracking shot of Britishville community from distance END Credits Director - David Borenstein Producers - Jesper Jack Christian Von Der Recke Cinematographer - Wu Ming Editors - Sara Bøgh Christian Einshøj Color Grading - Wu Ming Line Producer - Li Xiao Composer - Jason Prover Special Thanks - Klara Grunning-Harris, Ge Ge, Chen Hao, Janus Metz Pedersen, Rachel Lears, Robin Blotnick, Amy Jones