電影節沒有電影,人民不擁有城市,獅子鬃毛得到北京尋找,警察向人民丟擲催淚彈,國家領袖成為無神論者的神。從尋常生活到荒謬現實,從獨立影展被封到雨傘運動,當在如此偌大的國度中,自由拍攝、放映紀錄片已成為一件(日趨)困難的事時,「敬」不只是「禁」的諧音,也代表著致敬與敬佩。

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Behemoth

On Mongolia’s vast plateau, heavenly green grasslands are being covered by the gloomy dust of a growing mining industry. Herdsmen and their families have no choice but to move away as grazing meadows dwindle. Day and night, miners are busy picking out coals from mountains of rocks. In nearby ironworks, men bake in the scorching heat like the condemned in ‘Inferno’.

The Chinese Mayor

Mayor GENG Yanbo announces a bold five-year plan to return the city of Datong to its former glory. In the hope to transform one of China's most polluted cities into a cultural and tourist destination, the city government is to forcibly demolish a hundred thousand households and relocate half a million people to give way to the restoration of ancient relic walls.

Of Shadows

Of Shadows shows the creative world of shadow theatre and the puppeteers whose way of life balances between a centuries-old rural narrative tradition and the modern, urban idea of a cultural heritage that has to be preserved. It is a touching portrait of a travelling theatre company in the northwest of China, where the age-old art is still kept alive.

Rooms with Mao's Images

This film was shot in Gulang, Gansu Province, where I made two other films. When I return to the footage I shot there, I realise that I have been to many peasants’ houses with MAO Zedong's picture on the walls. Although MAO's era has ended decades ago, he remains as a strong folk belief, a divinity in this atheistic country. This film is literally about the people living in those houses.

Yellowing

Besides the student leaders who have been actively involved in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, there have been many unsung heroes supporting the movement in different ways. This film contains twenty memorandums which recorded the story of a group of young people struggling to fight for their own future, with ups and downs along the way.

Yun Zi

With two ill-healthed parents unfit for heavy manual labour and a nine-year-old brother still attending primary school, a pair of teenage twin sisters dropped out of school to contribute to the financial difficulty of their family. One day, when their parents went to work in a neighbouring village, the sisters become responsible for all the household tasks.

A Filmless Festival

This film documents the preparation and forced cancellation of the 11th Beijing Independent Film Festival in 2014. The footage used for the film was captured by members of audience, festival workers, participating filmmakers and members of the press who witnessed the ‘the darkest day’ in the history of Chinese independent film.

Enclave

Yibu SUGAN lost his father when he was young. He nearly died elsewhere before returning home to live with his mother. With the arrival of volunteer teachers, he is pleased to see the village children get the education they need. He also attends the classes occasionally. Electricity became available in the village in 2012. With TV, he has a new way to learn more about the outside world.

The Road

For more than three years, the director filmed the making of a section of a highway through a quiet village in Hunan, a province in central China where Chairman MAO was born. Local villagers and temples are forced to move and migrant workers endure very difficult working conditions, while the management of the construction company wants their share of the financial apple.

The Shaman's Journey

Erdeng is a shaman from the grasslands of West Ujimqin Banner near the Mongolian border in China. When he was young, he has learnt under a respected shaman in Mongolia. Baolidao, Erdeng’s son, prefers a more modern life in China. In 2012, they travelled to Mongolia and, seeing the power of the shaman with his own eyes, Baolidao began to develop a new appreciation for his people.

Salute! Chinese Independent Documentaries

A film festival is unable to screen films, citizens do not own their city, a lion’s mane must be found in Beijing, the police use tear gas against citizens, whilst the leader of the country becomes a God for atheists. From day to day life to absurd realities, from a cancelled independent film festival to the Umbrella Revolution, on this vast land of plenty, the freedom to make and screen documentary films is being threatened. In this section, we pay our respect and admiration to those risking government censorship.

Films

A Filmless Festival

A Filmless Festival

2015
China
85min
王我
WANG Wo

Behemoth

Behemoth

2015
China
95min
趙亮
ZHAO Liang

Enclave

Enclave

2015
China
119min
李維
LI Wei

Of Shadows

Of Shadows

2015
Canada, China
80min
崔誼
CUI Yi

Rooms with Mao's Images

Rooms with Mao's Images

2015
China
138min
叢峰
CONG Feng

The Chinese Mayor

The Chinese Mayor

2015
China
86min
周浩
ZHOU Hao

The Road

The Road

2015
China
95min
張贊波
ZHANG Zanbo

The Shaman's Journey

The Shaman's Journey

2016
China
68min
顧桃
GU Tao

Yellowing

Yellowing

2015
Hong Kong
133min
陳梓桓
CHAN Tze-woon

Yun Zi

Yun Zi

2014
China
75min
姜紀杰
JIANG Jijie
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