INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL – DOC.LISBOA 2008 

17-26 OCTOBER

AUDITORIUM

Cinema

Price: € 3,50

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL – DOC.LISBOA 2008
MADE IN CHINA CYCLE

In the last 15 years, China has produced thousands of documentaries with various directors establishing reputations and starring at the major international festivals: Zhang Yuang, Jia Zhang-ke and Huang Wenmei, for example. Through the perspectives of these and other directors, this facet of DocLisboa seeks to create a profound portrait of China from 1994 onwards, focusing particularly on the relationship between individuals and societies.

17 October

21:30

The Last Lumberjacks (Mubang)
Director: Yu Guangyi
China, 2006, 90’, Colour
Cert. 12

The film portrays the life of a group of lumberjacks in Heilongjiang province and their work in highly adverse climatic conditions. Documenting a way of life condemned to extinction by the progress of civilisation, this film reveals the way in which the forests have provided subsistence to these settlements for over a century. Due to major transport difficulties, inhabitants in the province make recourse to traditional cottage methods that have been handed down through generations. Winter is the best time to cut the word and the ritual has been repeated for years: villagers are contracted and meet to climb the mountains where they shall spend the entire season felling trees. Days on end, in the snow and the ice, with dignity, the woodcutters confront a harsh struggle against the natural elements.

18 October

21:30

Crime and Punishment (Zui Yu Fa)

Director: Zhao Liang De

China, 2007, 123´, Colour

Cert. 12

Filmed on the border between North Korea and China, Crime and Punishment accompanies the daily life of young Chinese policemen in their local station. As in any other such institution, they deal with a varied range of situations from thieves to those in difficulty. This documentary also portrays the competition generated among the young officers as they seek promotion and advancement in their career whenever a more senior officer retires. A cross-section of contemporary China that strives to discover its identity in the midst of a struggle between the oncoming progress and resistance to change.

19 October

21:30

We (Wo Men)
Director: Huang Wenhai
China, 2005, 85´, Colour
Cert12

In We, the voices we hear belong to the conscientious citizens that give their all to efforts to try and perfect the condition of the Chinese nation. Their ethics are clear and simple: when the interests of the State are in jeopardy, it is not possible to sit by and watch. Furthermore, the reward for this type of dedication and concern often results in a life of political agitation, years of constant intimidation and close surveillance. We is a documentary illustrating the dangers of seeking liberty in a time of obscurity and a period in which criticism implies transformation. In depicting the harsh realities confronted by three different generations, from youths to adults to senior citizens, this film enables us to come to an understanding as to their worries, hopes and despairs and in particular as to their persistence..

20 October

21:30

A Day to Remember (Wangque de Yitian)

Director: Liu Wei

China, 2005, 13´, Colour

Cert. 12

It is 4 June 2005. The cineaste Liu Wei picks up his camera and sets off for Tiananmen Square and the University of Beijing with a question in his head: what day is it? As he poses this question to the various students and people that he encounters on his way, he receives countless evasive replies and the refusal of the majority to recall the student protests of 16 years previous. Many affirm that they do not know anything about those events and move swiftly onwards while others opt only to stare at the camera. A Day to Remember reflects the great unease surrounding the date of 4 June and how the uprising of that period still remains a taboo subject in the People’s Republic of China. Nevertheless, this film by Liu Wei breaks with that silence and explores an entire nation’s feelings of denial.

Crazy English (Fengkuamg Yingyu)

Director: Zhang Yuan

China, 1999, 52´, Colour

Promoting the study of English as a patriotic obligation, since 1988, Li Yang has been organising hundreds of events across around 60 Chinese cities and attended by over 13 million people. Attracting people to such diverse sites as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall or the Marco Polo bridge, Li leads the crowd in chanting propaganda slogans such as: “This is the American dream” to which he responds “I want this to be the Chinese dream!”. A portrait of a truly self-made man whom the public interact with as if he were some pop star or charismatic politician swept along by his passion and energy.

22 October

21:30

The Square(Guang Chang)

Director: Hang Yuan e Dua Jing-chuan

China, 1994, 100’, BW
Cert. 12

One of the world’s best known squares – Tiannamen Square – as seen from the perspectives of directors Hang Yuan and Dua Jing-chuan who deliberately shy away from any political or historical considerations as to their location. Instead, this documentary is a meticulous portrait of the daily goings on in that square: the statue of a policeman, tourists taking photographs, the raising and lowering of the flag, people exercising...

23 October

21:30

In Public (Gong Gong Chang Suo)

Director: Jia Zhang-Ke

China, 2001, 32´, Colour

Cert. 12

A documentary that once again synthesises the aesthetic concerns of Jia Zhang-Ke in addressing how different people can live in different spaces. Somewhere out in a suspended time and space, between light and shade, we are transported through various scenarios: train stations, bus stops, karaoke stages or discos. Filmed in Shanxi, one of the most ancient provinces of China, the audience here shares the same perspective and solitude of those catching first the train and then the bus as they proceed on their trajectory taking them through a landscape of labour, uniform, silent and stark. As with In Public, Jia Zhang-Ke has produced a piece of work serving to contribute towards a sensitive and complex vision of modern China.

DONG

Director: Jia Zhang-Ke

China, 2005, 70´, Colour

Dong takes its audience into the ancient city of Fengjie, in the Three Gorges region, condemned to submersion under the waters of the world’s largest dam. The demolition work contrasts with the work of painter Liu Xiadong who selects 11 workers to portray in a project that he wishes to include in the collection he is painting. Absorbed by the reality of both the workers and the region, the painter experiences the agony of a world coming to an end. Leaving China, Liu Xiadong sets off for Thailand where he continues with his series of canvases while this time choosing 11 young female models. Under the intense sun and in very harsh light, the artist proceeds without knowing either the language or the customs of the country. A portrait of the human condition in two distinct situations but with Asia as a shared background.

24 October

21:30

Floating Dust

Director: Huang Wenhai

China, 2003, 111’, Colour

Cert. 12

Floating Dust revela os sonhos de gente comum que se junta num clube de jogos numa pequena vila de uma das mais pobres províncias do sul da China. Esta é a história de um grupo de desempregados que, diariamente, se reúnem para discutirem estratégias de jogo, probabilidades de vencerem a lotaria, fórmulas matemáticas que desvendem os segredos da sorte e códigos escondidos na série televisiva Teletubbies. Os sonhos da fortuna fácil confundem-se aqui com um mundo de frustrações e o fim da era das ideologias, apresentando-nos a um universo e a uma realidade completamente novos na China. Tomando a obsessão pelo jogo como ponto de partida, o filme segue. Assim, um grupo de personagens entregue ao próprio jogo das suas ilusões de uma vida melhor.

25 October

21:30

Mum (Mama)

Director: Zhang Yuan

China, 1990, 90’, BW and Colour

M/12

Mama, the first full length film by Zhang Yuan was also the first independent film to be made in China since 1949. The director, who from the outset revealed a strong inclination for tackling controversial aspects of Chinese society, drew on the financial support of various friends for its making. It looks at the relationship between a single mother and her 11 year old handicapped son, approaching scenarios set in some of the special schools and support institutions for children with special needs. Filmed in a realist style, Mama combines fiction with documentary to tell a story which gets up very close to the social realities that its characters encounter.

26 October

21:30

Red Paradise (Hongse Shenjiang)
Director: Bai Budan

China, 2007, 7´, Colour

Cert. 12

In a valley overshadowed by seven imposing mountains, there is a small village where all the inhabitants work hard in the coal mining industry under the supervision of the great Communist Party. The village of Laoyaogou is to be found in a region that was once known as Jin of North, lying beyond Datong, Shanxi province. In recent years, this village has overcome all kinds of difficulties and achieve consecutive “miracles”. In 2006, total village earnings reached 75 430 000 yuan with inhabitants paying up 8 830 000 yuan in taxation. Earnings per capita totalled 6,187 yuan. That same year saw the village honoured with the distinction of the “Civilised and Harmonious Village of Shanxi Province”. Inhabitants are highly grateful to everyone who helped them as well as the Communist Party.

Little Feet (Xiaojiao Renjian)

Director: Bai Budan

China, 2005, 114´, Colour

The village of Xiayao in Shanxi province. Bai Danu, who since the age of seven had her feet bound, and Liu Buhan both married over 40 years ago. As both were widows, they brought their respective children together (two boys and a girl for Bai and three daughters for Liu). Their children themselves are already grandparents and do not agree on the best way to care for their elderly parents. Hence, even though they are already well into their 80s, the pair leave home very early and only return late on and spending the entire time tending to the crops. Due to her bound feet, Bai Nu walks only with the help of two crutches and has to sit down while working in the field. The narrative is spliced with testimony from other elderly folk talking about the tradition of binding feet.

Co-produção: Fundação Oriente/Doc.Lisboa 2008