China Villagers Documentary Project

Over the past 25 years, social and political reforms have dominated life in the Chinese countryside, their goal being to make democratic principles the groundwork for economic and political relationships in every community. During this time, more than 700,000 villages have been working, more or less successfully, on a new division of the social and political power. China Villagers Documentary Project provides some unique insight into 10 very diverse corners of the country where poor farmers, grocers and other villagers are facing an uncertain future. In each case, these individuals are the ones doing the filming. After a short introductory scene, every director explains his vision on the most pressing situations in the community, while effortlessly mixing with fellow-villagers. The films present small, sober and revealing impressions of the complex problems that rural China, lagging far behind the big cities, must contend with. Meetings, debates, election campaigns and spontaneous discussions out on the street reveal the beginnings of a changing China, and their unaffected straightforwardness makes them touching. —International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam