(A screenshot of “Life Smartphone”)

At the 90th Academy Awards ceremony which ended last week, NBA star Kobe Bryant won the Best Animated Short Film for his “Dear Basketball.” While amazed at Kobe’s perfect transition from the basketball court to the screen world, people also discovered a short film called “Life Smartphone" among the top ten contenders.

(A screenshot of “Life Smartphone”)

A work of Chenglin Xie, a Chinese young man born in the 1990s,“Life Smartphone” is a representation of smartphone addiction taken to the extreme as we watch humans race towards isolation. Presented in the way of dry humor, the short film reflects the status quo of our society.

The three-minute film is Xie’s first personal animation. It went viral soon after being released on the Internet and was widely distributed on video sites. It won the director a host of awards, including an honor in the animation category at the 44th Student Academy Awards in September 2017.

(Poster of “Life Smartphone”)

As a member of the new generation of young people who are poised to realize the rise of Chinese cinema, Xie said that in the context of the prime development of animated films, creators need to enrich themselves and use good ideas to reflect the life that resonates with everyone.

As for the intention of the film, Xie revealed that it was inspired by his father’s words. Xie used to be a phubber who spent much time staring at his smartphone. Seeing this, his father advised him to care more about his surroundings because an art pursuer should not ignore observations of life. “After I put down my phone, I found that people around me are glued to smartphones almost all the time. That is how I became interested in smartphone addiction,” recalled the talented director.

After realizing the social problem, he felt it was necessary for him to talk about the topic by creating a film called “Life Smartphone.” According to Xie, the 1st character in the short film is based on his own experience: When he was a child, he forgot to notice a telephone pole on his way and bumped his head pretty hard.