Psychological drama screens episodes at Tribeca Festival

What a Wonderful World, a drama directed and written by maverick auteur Xu Bing, recently earned recognition in New York at the Tribeca Festival, an annual event celebrating all forms of storytelling.

The eight-episode online series explores the complex inner world of an individual struggling with dissociative identity disorder. It screened a trailer and two episodes in the festival's official presentation section, making it one of the first Chinese-language dramas featured in the category.

With its intriguing avant-garde style, the psychological drama is regarded by critics as an innovative breakthrough in storytelling. It has amassed 1.38 billion views on related topics on Sina Weibo and 1.4 billion views for related short videos on Douyin.

During the screening at the festival on June 6, associate director Xu Tian, who helmed several episodes, actress Zhao Liying and actor Yin Fang attended the event and shared their insights with the audience.

Zhao views her character, Jia Xiaoduo — one of the protagonist's various personalities — as "strong and brave", able to conquer the negative emotions carried by the other identities.

She said: "The show uses imaginative settings and visuals to create a person's inner world. … It also shows how younger generation today work hard to keep their best, most ideal selves intact."

Yin, who portrays the protagonist, shared that his character embodies a vulnerable and lonely group — those who fear yet crave love, forming an inner world filled with "other individuals" to care for themselves. He added that the story delves into urban loneliness in a captivating way.