Documenting A Rising Superpower

Media Release
For Immediate Release

Documenting A Rising Superpower

Documentary Edge Festival –
Spotlight: Focus On China

The Documentary Edge Festival shines a spotlight through the mists of Asia with four films that focus on the differences of lifestyle in China, both in terms of landscapes and culture. Focus on China shows audience’s examples of life in what many consider the next “super-power”, not just in terms of its booming economy but the documentary talent coming to the fore.

Cheung King-Wai’s KJ follows the life of piano prodigy Wong Ka-Jeng (“KJ” for short), as it follows his life from the age of 11 to 18, capturing the exploits of the maestro and his father from the moments he went to the Czech Republic to perform with a professional orchestra through to helping his prestigious school to victory at inter-school competition by conducting their orchestra. KJ however doesn’t care about his award, competitions or even companionship with his fellow students, as the film documents the sometimes-existential musings – and the arrogant nature as he talks back to his peers, musicians and even his own family members. KJ swept the awards at Taiwan’s recent Golden Horse Awards (Taiwan’s equivalent of the Academy Awards)

Chinese Olympic coaches are legendary. Like Shaolin training methods, prospective athletes are put through gruelling pain and humiliation - but, in Chao Gan's Red Race, these aspiring trainees are toddlers, whose parents or grandparents have placed them into gruelling and sometimes demoralizing gymnastic training regimes because they want the best for the children - the chance to escape the countryside as an Olympian and a chance to build a better life, even if it means sacrificing their childhood.

“Classic” Beijing is changing, and now, it’s a race towards the modernization of the city and a in some cases to save it. New Beijing documents the troubles of developing the “Old City”, with those looking to preserve its historical values as Memory of China, a voluntary cultural heritage group, the primary focus of Georgia Wallace-Crabbe’s film. Will the group stop the massive urban development that will see “old” Beijing swept away?

Zhao Liang’s Petition follows the lives of “petitioners” who look to redress against their local officials by travelling to Beijing. With their local authorities sending “retrievers” to dissuade them, the odds of them winning this battle look incredibly slim – and complainants having to wait in the city must now reside in “Petition Village”, a shanty town where poverty reigns. Liang’s documentary took twelve years to complete and was the toast at Cannes Film Festival. It is a tour de force by one of China’s most promising new talents and should not be missed.

KJ, New Beijing and The Red Race are among 5 films sourced through the recent partnership between the Documentary Edge Festival and the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival.

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