Founded in 2020 by Yang Xiao and Chen Sisi, Badlands Film Group is a video duo whose works are often embedded in the media ecology of marginalised communities, engaging and sharing the collective memories of the oppressed. For example, The Memo documents the video activism in the slums of Shanghai during the lockdown, received Best Documentary Short Film Award at the 60th Golden Horse Awards, while The Mountains Sings focuses on the tradition of improvised singing by Zhuang people in the midst of ecological changes, winning Special Mention Award at the FIRST Youth Film Festival.
The Memo
The Memo
The Memo
Synopsis
This is a video diary of the surreal lockdown made by the filmmaker couple who were trapped in a small, rented apartment in Shanghai. In the face of endless madness, the camera gradually breaks free from the window and observes a vast social isolation unprecedented in the country's history.
'We urgently need to think about images by images. In Shanghai at that time, the large amount of short video media from the society became the most effective weapon against the bureaucratic machine. We regarded it as a "short video activism movement".' - Badlands Film Group
Festivals & Awards
2023 Best Documentary Short Film, Golden Horse Awards
2023 Clermont-Ferrand ISFF
Director's Profile
Badlands Film Group
Filmography
2023 The Memo
Print Source
Badlands Film Group｜badlandsimage@gmail.com