Watch 12 Citizens Online

When the film broke out that a young man coming from a rich adopted family murdered his birth father, the controversy around the case hit a nerve with the public at large. An experiment was held through the form of virtual court inside a college to discuss this hot topic. During the process of virtual court, 12 Chinese people from different walks of life got together and discussed the case like a jury. Through intricate and thought provoking questions from the main character, people start to think more critically about the case. During this process, one sees the revelation of people’s bias and emotional-preconceptions about the suspect, about each other, and also about the society. A dialogue was commenced between different social classes and lights shed on the common mistakes we make when prejudices and judgements are involved are shown through the turning of the jury one by one. After several tense, fierce rounds of debate, they walked out with a unanimous decision about the case and more understandings about themselves and the definition of justice. The movie reflects on the social issues of today’s China and tries to provide an alternative perspective through the conversations between different social classes; it will be a comedy that is serious in content but entertaining in form.