“China Day” – a fruit of cooperation with Documentary Film Festival in Guangzhou became a tradition of Krakow Film Festival.
‘China Day’, which has become a part of the KFF’s tradition, is a fruit of cooperation with the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival. Since 2004, the Krakow Film Festival has played host to the representatives of the Chinese film industry, who would bring along the most recent works of the Middle Kingdom’s artists. Every year these films are exceptional and exotic.
For the jubileeedition, four documentaries produced during the last two years were chosen. If you were to construct an image of the present day China on their basis, you would come up with a vision of a country of arduous work and unstable existence.
Directed by Cheung King-Wai, ‘
KJ: Music and Life’ definitely stands out from the other films. It tells a story about a 17-year-old child prodigy pianist, Wong Ka-Jeng, who, on the threshold of adulthood, begins asking himself how his priorities which until now focused exclusively on music will change.The theme of poverty and difficult working conditions, present on and off in the Western media, will be raised at the 50
th KFF as well. The neighbourhood of Fengijang – the world’s scrap yard – is a place where over 50 thousand people work to recycle valuable parts from the scrap. Their story will be presented in
‘Living upon Iron’ by Jin Huaqing while in ‘Cotton’ by Zhou Hao we will follow the production of a pair of jeans, an example of ‘Made in China’ clothes.
‘Tide’ presents a natural disaster which afflicted China in the winter of 2008. As a result of immense snowfall, hundreds of people got trapped at train stations and in trains on their way home. Yao Song records people’s reactions to the tragedy and their struggle with nature.
The Polish and Chinese cooperation brings mutual benefits. During ‘Polish Day’ at the festival in Guangzhou, the audience has the opportunity to watch the most recent Polish productions.
CHINA DAY:
KJ: MUSIC AND LIFE, dir. Cheung King-Wai, China 2008, 90′
A story of a child prodigy, excellent 17-year old pianist Wong Ka-Jeng. The young genius asks himself a question about things other than music that are important in his life. The film presents the dilemmas of a young artist becoming an adult.
LIVING UPON IRON, dir. Jin Huaqing, China 2008, 5′
The neighbourhood of Fengijang has been one huge scrap yard for over twenty years. It is a destination place for waste coming from almost all world. Over 50 thousand people in this polluted city are searching tons of scrap for valuable elements.
COTTON, dir. Zhou Hao, China 2009, 9’
An arduous way of making a pair of jeans as seen from the perspective of China’s textile workers. The film shows individual links of the chain whose end result is a garment carrying a label ‘Made in China’.
THE TIDE, dir. Yao Song, China 2009, 10′
In January 2008 an unexpected attack of winter paralyzed the lives of the Chinese. Hundreds of thousands of people were trapped in train stations and trains on their way home. Capturing these events, the films shows the emotions related to the anticipation of resuming one’s journey.