Moneyboys

Young Fei lives in the big Chinese city and earns his money as an illegal sex worker to support his family in the countryside. When he realizes that his family accepts his money but not his homosexuality, he falls into a deep crisis. Now he is forced to reorganize his life, to acknowledge his love and to take responsibility - for himself and for the people close to him.

"MONEYBOYS is an existential, queer and at the same time universal film about love, which does not pursue political meaning, but creates it. Not only does it display an incredibly clean cinematic craft on all levels, surprisingly mature for a debut film. From the precise camera that uses its Cinemascope so intelligently, to the precise character drawing that tells complex, multi-layered worlds even in the supporting characters, to the deliberately placed but at the same time not loud set design and the costumes that become one with their characters, to that incredibly close acting. But he also manages that this craft does not lead to sterility. Quite the opposite: C.B. Yi tells his story with a deep heartiness. Despite the harsh circumstances, he does not define his characters through pity. Instead, C.B. Yi gives the characters and the entire film an extraordinary dignity." (Jury statement, Festival Max Ophüls Preis 2022)