China, 2006, 170 min., MiniDV
International premiere
Vérité documentarist Wu waited a long time before releasing this pungent, yet moving, indictment of how cinema is affecting -- and sometimes destroying—the lives of ordinary people in China. A must-see!
It took real courage to famous documentarist Wu Wenguang to release this yet moving exploration of the cruel unbalance created by the booming film industry between the people in power and the perennial outsiders: a homeless peasant who tries to peddle his script about Beijing; young girls from the provinces auditioning for the part of a hooker; a seller of illegal DVDs chased by the police.
– Don’t you see Wu Wenguang is manipulating you, making you running all around town?
– It does not matter in whose hands I am now, I’m still a puppet.
– Your script is about crowd scene extras?
– Yes, it’s a true story about my life.
– So now you’re working as an extra for Wu Wenguang.
– Much better, I am the leading actor…
Preceded by
Jia Zhangke: Ten Years
China, 2007, 8 min., 35mm
Print courtesy of Cyberport and Digital Media Centre
Ten years after the retrocession of Hong Kong to China – a train ride from Taiyuan – a document or a staged metaphor?