In 2014, BuzzFeed writer Matt Stopera’s phone was stolen from a bar in NYC. A year later, photos of storefronts and a man next to an orange tree mysteriously appeared in his iPhoto stream. Matt wrote an article about it, and overnight, it went viral in China, where internet users identified the man as “Brother Orange.” Invited to China, Matt became an instant celebrity, and as media followed their every move, he and Brother Orange formed a deep friendship that transcended cultural and language barriers. When Brother Orange visited Matt in the US, Matt felt compelled to reveal his full self by coming out to his new friend. Years later, after enduring the pandemic apart, Brother Orange recorded a hopeful video message, expressing his wish to reunite with Matt.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My name is Matt Stapira. I live in New York City. I'm just a normal guy that makes things
00:07on the internet. Except for the fact that I'm super famous. In China.
00:17Last year, I was sitting at this bar. I put my phone on the table. It gets swiped. These
00:22pictures start showing up. Tons of selfies of a guy with an orange tree. And I just remember
00:27being like, you know what, I should do a BuzzFeed post on this. I went to bed that
00:31night and everything has been different ever since.
00:35Chinese Twitter loved this. They made me a meme, which is hilarious. And one of the top
00:42comments I always get is, come to China, come to China, come to China.
00:46The internet really wants us to meet. And I'm just happy to give the internet what they
00:50want.
00:52What's up, Brother Orange? How do you like Britney Spears? Hey! So nice to meet you.
01:01Why I come to China? Is everything what you expected? I'm overwhelmed.
01:09I'm in another country on the other side of the world. Okay, so I'm not good with chopsticks.
01:16We've both been thrust into the spotlight at the same time. I think that's part of why
01:21we're growing closer.
01:23There was one thing, though, that I was afraid to tell Brother Orange. And I was told to
01:26be very careful about it.
01:28I haven't come out to him. It's embarrassing.
01:31I gotta tell you something.
01:33I think he's gonna react badly. That's what everyone always thinks when they come out.
01:39One of the things that I've learned through this is that the Chinese really believe in
01:42faith.
01:44So the fact that me, some guy who lives in New York, and then Brother Orange, some guy
01:48who lives in southern China, can be connected by a thread is more than coincidence. It's
01:54kind of like a meant-to-be type thing.
01:59You said at the beginning of this that I would be crying at the end of this.
02:03You said at the beginning of this that I would be crying at the end of this.
02:08I would think that you were insane.
02:14Oops, I did it again.
02:17Oh, I did it again. Oh, baby, baby.
02:23Yes!