Apple's sweet tale of bravery and belonging

Apple has released its now annual film which marks the celebration of Chinese New Year.

Created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab\Shanghai and directed by Lulu Wang through Iconoclast, award-winning director of feature film The Farewell, Nian is a fresh interpretation of a famous Chinese folktale about a beast that lives in the forest, and features a fearless young girl who tackles the unknown head-on. 

The film was shot entire on an iPhone 12 Pro Max with the crew of Nian putting the phone to the test to showcase the camera’s features and utilizing Dolby Vision, its low-light, ultra-wide lens, telephoto lens, stabilisation and time-lapse features. 

“It’s really exciting that we have this opportunity to retell this ancient story, to capture these incredibly cinematic images with the iPhone,” said Wang. “As a child, my parents wanted me to go further than they have ever gone. And yet there’s also this fear that I was going into the unknown, and so I wanted to bring that theme into this film. We had a lot of fun just trying to figure out where else can we stick the phone so we can get angles and perspectives that are just a little bit more unique. I hope when audiences realize that we shot it on iPhones, they will feel empowered. They don’t have to wait for permission to go out and make things.”