Bus 44 (2001) Running time 11 minutes Written by Dayyan Eng Directed by Dayyan Eng Produced by Dayyan Eng Starring

Beibi Gong Chao Wu, Qiang Li

Special Jury Award - 2001 Venice Film Festival Jury Honorable Mention - 2002 Sundance Film Festival Directors' Fortnight - 2002 Cannes Film Festival Grand Jury Award - 2002 Florida Film Festival Official Selection - 2003 New York Film Festival Wide shot/long take of bus in the background passing through. Foggy. Diegetic bird sound. Quick cut to harsh diegetic sound of driving. Close-up on tire. First character shown is the driver, young woman. Costume distinct to passengers-red jacket, shows shes authority. Could symbolise/foreshadow danger? Wide shot? of passengers. Nearly all same aged men. Grouped together. Only one woman. Closer shots of passengers, picking them out of crowd. Couple-man and woman. Full body shot of single crouching man. Grinding sound stone against sand. Moving round him. Close-up as he notices the bus. Sound of bus reaches a crescendo. Wide shot as he stops the bus. Enters center of the frame. Symmetry of trees on each side of the road-symbolising cage? Looking through front window as bus approaches the man. Steam sound emitted by bus. Camera movement right to left in front of bus. Man has first dialogue. Woman replies. Two in frame. Mid shot of man. looks round, no seat. Man blocks view of passengers. Almost become only two characters. Dialogue between the two contrast the silence between her and the rest of the passengers. Close-up on driver picture. They share a joke, becoming friendly. She cut the conversation short. Facial expression changes quickly. Shot of driver reflection in mirror. Bus POV of road, trees. Barren, almost dirt track. Tight. Close-up of man sleeping. Another shot out of the front window, however interior is more in the foreground. Appearance vs Reality. Approach two men in the middle of the road. Mid-shot of driver from outside the bus through the doors, as she shouts to the men. Upwards tilt and zoom on mens faces as they enter. Close together in frame. Appearance vs Reality men pretending to be hurt actually highway robbers Passengers instantly roused from the shout.

 Close-up of main criminal. See theyre holding weapons, a knife, woman seen between them. Handheld, shaky camera giving fly on wall sense, as second criminal collects the money. Main criminal second man to interact with the woman. Contrast between first man, more violent. Close-up on money bag, people putting money in it. Close-up of main criminals face nodding. Shouting breaks the silence. Quick cuts, speed up the pace, add tension. Handheld movements. First passenger to stand-up and not give money. Second criminal turns to first criminal, cant solve it himself. Driver speaks for the passenger. Two in frame. Tells passenger to give the money-frightened. Short track of main criminal as he walks over to passenger. Criminal solves the problem through violence. Extreme high angle on main criminal-shows hierarchy in bus, hes got the most power. Low angle on both criminals once off the bus, however they still hold the power. Main criminal pulls driver off the bus. Straight sideways movement as she is pulled closer. Looking through doors again, this time through interior of bus. Main criminal attacks driver (abuse). Main criminal stands over her, hierarchy. They walk out of the frame. Then close-up of first mans face. He asks the question, moral value of passengers thrown into question. Shot of couple again, man attempts to get up, but the woman pulls him back down. Frightened for him? Does not sympathise with fellow woman? First man gets up, before he leaves the bus he looks again at the passengers for help. As soon as he leaves the passengers get up, looking out the window. Handheld tracking as man runs towards criminals. Fights with the second criminal, but loses. Good vs evil. Good loses. Symmetry of attackers and victims. Second criminal and man in foreground, main criminal and driver in background. Driver slightly hidden behind bush. Diegetic screams. Woman is raped. Happening in long take. Slow movement down side of bus. Sound of engine covers screams. Passengers faces covered by sun glare. Long take, as criminals run away. Injured man blurred, corner of bus in focus. Long take as woman gets up, and steps around him. Driver enters center of the frame. Turns to face passengers-similar to man. Passengers back in seats-as if nothing happened. Turn away from her.

 Make-up of driver-blooded face, dirty hair. Close-up/long take wipes face, looks at passengers longer. Face slowly turns to sorrow, and judgement of passengers cowardice, then anger. Range of emotions. Long take, driver starts to cry, head on wheel. Horn beeps. Close-up of nodding dog-almost as if its confirming whatever thoughts are in her mind. Man appears in door. Shows kindness again. However, woman cuts it short (symmetry to beginning). Her actions are shocking. Makes the audience wonder why? Man is left in center of the road, center frame. Falls to the floor, heavy breathing. First non-diegetic music. Synthesised, piano. Man once again at side of the road, calls down car. POV out of the window. Golden glow through the trees. Natural light. Police car, and siren appear. Car stops at crime scene. Sound of police radio. Man steps through crime scene. Overhears bus has crashed. Policeman appears from behind ditch. Confirms driver and passengers are dead. Ends on close-up of mans face smiling with realisation.