Zhou Hao presents his film "The Transition Period" at the China Documentary Festival in Hong Kong (photo: Associated Press)

The 2011 Chinese Documentary Festival in Hong Kong concluded earlier this month with awards given to The Transition Period by Zhou Hao and One Day in May by Ma Zhandong. The Transition Period will be distributed later this year by dGenerate, which already distributes one of Zhou’s earlier films, Using.

In a report on the festival for the Associated Press, Min Lee describes The Transition Period as “a rare, fascinating look at how the Chinese government operates:”

Guo Yongchang, who is currently serving a seven-year prison term for accepting bribes of 2 million Chinese yuan ($310,000), is shown discussing how to split tax revenue with lower-level officials, meeting with constituents as well as smearing birthday cake onto the face of an American businessman and wining and dining with Taiwanese businessmen in another drunken episode. A secretly recorded sound section shows Guo ordering an aide to return certain bribes.

Zhou said he met Guo at a dinner and the former official quickly agreed to be filmed. He said he got full access — although avoided shooting Guo’s family life. Guo has seen the documentary — minus the secretly taped section — and didn’t object, Zhou said.

When asked if he worried if such a film could cause trouble for him with the authorities, Zhou responded: “my understanding is that you can basically film everything you want to film. The key question is whether you want to shoot something. If you want to shoot something, you can definitely do it.”

In the context of recent troubles experienced by socially critical artists such as Ai Weiwei, Zhou said that he and other artists have benefitted from the sacrifices made by such figures. “There are many people taking the heat for us … What should we be afraid of?” Zhou said. Zhou also cited the example of  Xu Xin, whose six-hour Karamay investigates a heavily censored story about 300 children who died in a fire while performing for government officials.

Fellow director Ma Zhandong agreed with Zhou’s position: “If you like what you are doing, you can overcome the hurdles.” Ma’s film One Day in May, which won the festival’s top prize, follows a family’s recovery from the deadly 2008 earthquake in southwestern Sichuan conference. Its unflinching depiction of the social and economic fallout from the earthquake recalls that of the award-winning film 1428 by Du Haibin, which is part of the dGenerate catalog.

Read the full version of the Associated Press report.

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The New Chinese Documentary Film Movement: For the Public Record (authors Chris Berry, Lu Xinyu, Lisa Rofel)

A new book by three eminent China scholars is out – The New Chinese Documentary Film Movement: For the Public Record edited by Chris Berry, Lu Xinyu, and Lisa Rofel. Peter Monaghan has a full report for Moving Image Archive News.

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Petition (dir. Zhao Liang)

A.O. Scott reviews Petition and Crime and Punishment in the New York Times.

The right of the people to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” as the First Amendment to the United States Constitution phrases it, would seem to be a basic feature of the relationship between citizen and state. Even nondemocratic systems acknowledge the principle that the rulers should listen to the complaints of the ruled. Zhao Liang’s “Petition,” a brave and wrenching new documentary from China, takes a bottom-up view of the cruel and absurd ways that lofty ideal is put into practice on the streets of Beijing.

Mr. Zhao’s camera is a stubborn, patient witness to some shocking scenes of bullying and intimidation, and he also offers a sympathetic ear to the ordinary people whose government hardly seems to care. “Petition” is an anthology of Kafkaesque anecdotes, most of them fragmentary, but what gives it shape and almost unbearable dramatic weight are the handful of stories the director pursues in detail.

“Petition” opens on Friday at the Anthology Film Archives, which is also presenting Mr. Zhao’s earlier feature, “Crime and Punishment.” That film, about the day-to-day work of military police officers, takes place far from Beijing, but its fine-grained insights into the workings of state power complement and complicate those seen in “Petition…” Together they offer eye-opening testimony both to the rigors of life in contemporary China and to the power of committed and honest cinema.

Read the full review.

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Crime and Punishment (dir. Zhao Liang)

This rave by Robert Koehler in Variety was one of the key reviews that drove us to pursue Crime and Punishment and eventually distribute it as part of the dGenerate catalog. Reading it, you can see why. Better yet, see the film at Anthology Film Archives during its run!

Here are some choice excerpts. The full review can be accessed at Variety.

———-

By Robert Koehler

In his stunning “Crime and Punishment,” documentary filmmaker Zhao Liang upturns the common perception that Chinese media and artists have little or no access to corridors of the military and law enforcement. At the same time, Zhao reveals a community hugging the border with North Korea where lawbreaking and extreme poverty go hand-in-hand. Rigorously observational and sometimes quite amusing when it isn’t shocking, pic further cements China’s position as a doc powerhouse, and should spark tube and cable sales in most major markets.

Zhao’s artistry is instantly apparent in a telling credits sequence that dwells on the maniacally precise way the military police, based in a frigid, unidentified mountain town, fold their bed mattresses. Nothing better conveys how the cop-soldiers (deemed by local officials as more effective than their own constabulary) strive for exactitude, no matter how pointless the activity…

Zhao makes no judgments, and a scene in which a cop tells a barber about his severe hair loss from job stress suggests the system victimizes the enforcers as well as the suspects.

For fans of Chinese cinema, the middle-aged pickpocket specialist could be the central character of Jia Zhangke’s first feature, “Pickpocket,” grown older if not wiser. Zhao’s eye for outdoor “movie” scenes is just as remarkable as his intense, tight interrogation sequences, particularly a funny long shot following the old scrap collector’s wife, stubbornly haranguing the cops as they trudge down a snowy trail with her husband.

A one-man band on the production side, Zhao does it all behind the camera and mic, his sharp eye and ear keen to every unexpected moment.

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Karamay (dir. Xu Xin)

Taiwan News has a highly informative article by Yali Chen comparing documentary production and distribution in Taiwan and China. The article reports on a couple of documentary exhibition and promotion events that take place in Taipei in the fall: the Golden Horse Awards (where the Taiwanese doc Hip Hop Storm took the best documentary prize) and the CNEX Chinese Doc Forum (CCDF) where NT $300,000 are awarded to Chinese documentary projects in development (this year’s winner is Shen Ko-shang for Double Happiness Limited: The Crazy Chinese Wedding Industry).

CNEX CEO Ben Tsiang explained the mission of the CCDF in helping Chinese documentary filmmakers develop their skills in accessing the funding resources and audiences of the global marketplace. “It’s hard for Chinese-language documentaries to penetrate the global market due to the language barrier and Chinese filmmakers’ unfamiliarity with the rules of an international pitching session.”

Chinese documentary filmmaker and distributor Tammy Cheung makes a direct comparison between Taiwanese and Chinese documentaries in terms of their shooting style, subject matter and regard for a mainstream audience:

“In terms of subjects, shooting styles and editing skills, Taiwan’s films seem similar because most filmmakers like touching, personal stories with a pinch of softness,” Hong Kong-based director Tammy Cheung said, “Taiwanese filmmakers care more about what their audiences like.”

“Chinese documentaries look very different because they have a touch of aggressiveness and center around serious social issues such as legal reforms, the gap between the city and countryside, plus human rights of Tibetans and migrant workers.”

Zhu Rikun, Curator of the Beijing Independent Documentary Festival, adds, “Chinese independent nonfiction filmmakers care more about political and social issues.” Exemplary mainland documentaries mentioned include Xu Xin’s Karamay, Du Haibin’s 1428 (available through dGenerate Films), and Petition by Zhao Liang (whose Crime and Punishment is distributed by dGenerate).

Read the full article.

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Mouthpiece (dir. Guo Xizhi)

Chinese Documentary Festival 2010
June 6-July 4, 2010

This year, the Chinese Documentary Festival presents thirteen films of high quality and with various themes. The topics include: environmental protection, gender issues, the sex life of the elderly, a portrait of a TV station, the life of a private detective and the history of Chinese theatres in San Francisco. These remarkable films reflect the ever-changing conditions of the Chinese diaspora.

All screenings will be held at the agnes b. Cinema at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Visit the HKAC website for details.

Program listing follows.

Shorts

Dream on the Wall + Heavy Metal
Date & Time: 20/06 4:30pm; 26/06 2:30pm

Dream on the Wall
China /2010 /Col /54mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Huang Mingming, Gao Luli
The world’s longest crane migration route is in east China, where most of crane species live, and it is currently threatened by increasing development and habitat loss. Xianghai is on the migration route.To raise people’s awareness of protecting their environment, Xianghai School’s art teacher and her students plan to draw a mural on town street wall. Firstly, the students interview the government officials and local people. The children walk into the government office with hope, but…

Heavy Metal
China /2009 /Col /50mins
In Mandarin & Gansu Dialect with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Jin Huaqing
For more than twenty years ago, electronic waste from Japan, USA, Australia and other countries has been transported to a small town called Fengjiang. Around 50,000 migrant workers from poverty-stricken parts of mid-west China formed an e-waste dismantling army. They dismantle and recycle nearly two million tons of e-waste each year with the most primitive methods. The film tells of the family of workers Zhang and of Qiu-xia’s story of survival.

Private Detective + No Tears in Three Gorges
Date & Time: 20, 28/06 7:30pm

Private Detective
China /2009  /Col /47mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Pan Zhiqi
Private detectives agencies sprang in many cities of China in the early 90s. Their main business is investigation of extra-marital affairs. Due to China’s national security law, which has strict control to the right of investigation, the profession is controversial. Lao Fang, a veteran detective, roams the cities to investigate affairs and look for proof, all on the edge of law.

No Tears in Three Gorges
China /2010  /Col /53mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Chen Fu, Shen Shiping
The huge amount of waste on the Yangtze River has created a lot of problems for the shipping industry, and severely damaged the water quality of the river. In 2003, fisherman Liu Gu Jun took the initiative and started a local cleaning team in the reservoir area, and has successfully removed more than 12,000 tons of waste. Liu has since become a household name, but despite the publicity, the cleaning team is shrinking in size due to funding shortage. Of the original 100 or so team members, only four to five remain today.

The Children in the Depths
China /2009  /Col /26mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Ma Fangfang
Date & Time: 27/06 4:30pm; 04/07 7:30pm
The film depicts the children’s life in the Protection Center for Street Children. Instead of probing into the characters or trying to develop a story, the film involves fragmented scenes showing the uncertain fate of the children. By focusing on three children’ lives and their outlook, the film tries to show the pain and struggle of street children. Screening with Farewell, Beijing.

Bloody Words + A Moment in Time
Date & Time: 27/06, 02/07 7:30pm

Bloody Words
China /2009  /Col /26mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Ma Fangfang
Date & Time: 27/06 4:30pm; 04/07 7:30pm
The film depicts the children’s life in the Protection Center for Street Children. Instead of probing into the characters or trying to develop a story, the film involves fragmented scenes showing the uncertain fate of the children. By focusing on three children’ lives and their outlook, the film tries to show the pain and struggle of street children.Screening with Farewell, Beijing.

Bloody Words + A Moment in Time
Date & Time: 27/06, 02/07 7:30pm
Taiwan /2009 /B&W & Col /43mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Chiang Ying-ching
Presenting shared personal stories of menstruation from the director’s friends and relatives, and also her own experiences, Chiang points out how education and society’s impact on the way women treat and deal with their
menstrual period and bodies. In this process of self-analysis, they discover the internal strength and self-respect.

A Moment in Time
USA /2009  /Col & B&W /55mins
In Mandarin & English with Chinese Subtitles
Dir: Ruby Yang
A Moment in Time, a documentary about the experience of the Chinese in America through the films they loved – from Cantonese Opera to Westerns. It harkens back to a time when six movie theaters in San Francisco’s Chinatown crystallised the memories, the beliefs, the sorrows and aspirations of Chinese immigrant families.
Features

Mouthpiece
China /2009 /Col /197mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Guo Xizhi
Date & Time: 19/06 3pm; 26/06 7pm

The documentary unfolds in two parallel spaces: one is, the Shenzhen TV news programme First Spot. In the TV station, the “mouthpiece” members carry out their work routines— they hold meetings, send articles, are worried about viewing rates and market shares. On the other side, in the city of Shenzhen, the “mouthpiece” folk go to the streets, and the city presents itself in all kinds of forms— all sorts of people displays their misfortunes to the camera.

Buried
China /2009 /B&W & Col /108mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Wang Libo
Date & Time: 19/06 7:30pm; 27/06 2pm
Buried, in a calm and objective tone, presents the history of the Great Tangshan Earthquake. It explores the unknown truth of a historical tragedy. The film interviews experts about the Tangshan Earthquake and recounts the concealment of information by the government of the event. The way the government officials refused to disclose earthquake forecasts to the public was repeated during the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008.

Mr. Jia and His Friends
China /2009 /Col /113mins
In Mandarin, Shandong Dialect with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Zi Han
Date & Time: 24/06, 01/07 7:30pm
In Jinan, Shandong, a group of hopeful elderly people meet regularly at a match-making agency. Mr. Jia, a widower, worked for a state-owned company before he retired. His wife passed away eight years ago. He has frequented the agency for the last three years with the hope of finding a beautiful woman in her forties. Even though he is eighty-four, he tells everyone Gan Ma is a seventy-seven years old widow. She is very popular at the dating agency. The agency brings new hope to the elderly. However, the reality might not turn out to be what they hope for.

Farewell, Beijing
China /2010  /Col /73mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Zhang Tianhui
Date & Time: 27/06 4:30pm; 04/07 7:30pm
Gong Fenghai was an educated urban youth (Zhi Qing) from Beijing. Answering the call from the government, he went to the rural area of Yanan during the Cultural Revolution. After living there for forty years, he hopes to move back to Beijing after retirement. Before Chinese New Year, he takes the train to Beijing in the hope of visiting his relative in the capital. How will the faraway hometown welcome its son… Screening with The Children in the Depths.

Fortune Teller
China /2010  /Col /183mins
In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Xu Tong
Date & Time: 29/06 7pm; 04/07 2pm
Li Baicheng met Pearl Shi when he was in his forties. They live in the countryside in northern China, where Li makes a living out of fortune telling. His clients are prostitutes who have many worries and expectations.
Faced with the bitter cold of winter and a campaign against prostitution, the couple returns to their hometown, Qinglong. Spring is coming; they take to the road once more and travel to a fair where they wait for their luck to turn.

Let It Be
Macua  /2010 / Col /84mins
In Cantonese with Chinese & English Subtitles
Dir: Ho Wing Yin, Hong Ieng Hou
Date & Time: 30/06 7:30pm; 01/07 4:30pm
The film depicts the changing society of Macao and the life of the local women. Overshadowed by the grandiose casinos are small streets and back alleys where indigenous people are incessantly striving for their identities and maintaining their lifestyles and values. The film is a montage of scenes from the lives of ten local females aged ten to ninety. The stories they share provided a chance for viewers to have a glimpse of the general condition of the women and discover Macao from a different perspective.
Programme information provided by: Visible Record

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In the conversation, Zhao discussed the situation of independent filmmaking in China, his experiences in painting, installation, and performance art and their influence on his later choice in filmmaking, as well as his recent project about the underground Nigerian Christian community in Guangzhou.

Concerning the three-part structure of the film, Zhao insisted that the film was less a quote unquote documentary than a reflection of his experience living in the community, presented from a “clear, subjective concept” of him. Zhao also expressed his wish for Chinese independent filmmakers to “be persistent, to insist on making good quality films.”

The complete interview can be accessed here.

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In film, censors in China are still quick to restrict gay cinema and homosexuality as a theme. But independent film makers have developed ongoing interest in this theme and have delved into the topic with great insights.  We at dGenerate will be adding some of these pioneering titles of queer Chinese cinema to our catalog soon.

One of our most respected directors, Cui Zi’en, the first Chinese gay to openly come out publicly on TV, documented the changes and development in LGBT issues in China over the last 80 years in his new documentary Queer China. As the opening film of ShanghaiPRIDE festival, this is the most comprehensive cinematic overview of LGBT history and culture in China.  It includes interviews with gay club organizers, doctors, laws, NGO workers, as well as famous scholars, such as Li Yinhe and Lisa Rofel.  From the repeal of sodomy law to the submission of a same-sex marriage bill to the National People’s Congress, Cui Zi’en uses his camera to record China’s changing attitudes towards homosexuality.  We at dGenerate Films are proud to announce that we’ll be distributing Queer China as well as Cui Zi’en’s film Enter the Clowns soon!

Thanks to Yuqian Yan for compiling links and info for this post.

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