ZHANG Mengqi
Asian Premiere
The seventh film of Zhang Mengqi's series portraying the small village 47 km away from Suizhou in Hupeh, China. An old political slogan on the wall is thought to be a mysterious thing like the Sphinx's secret. The film is an outstanding observation documentary that reflects the historic and political messages with cine-aesthetic frames, presenting ingeniously personal and communal perspectives.
The village '47km' is in the Hubei province of China, the birthplace of the father of Zhang Mengchi born in 87, and is called by this name because it is 47 km away from Xīzhōu. Her father left the village at the age of twenty but her grandfather still lives there. For the past eight years, she has produced seven self-portrait documentary series about the village. The film begins by sheding light on the dilapidated wall with the obscure graffiti, "Only OOOism can save China". This starting point is a point of reflections where many layers of time, ideology, space, generation, and history overlap. The generation to disappear and the young generation to bear the future encounter in front of this wall. An old woman tells about her dead son and the history of the country, and a girl plays around the wall against the sun, draws pictures, and dreams. The conversation of women of two generations, created by a woman director and cameras, takes place in poetic scene and cinematic language. The documentary captures the moments when personal things become political and historical. [JEONG Minah]
ZHANG Mengqi
Self Portrait: Birth in 47 km (2016)Self Portrait: Dying at 47 km (2015)Self Portrait: Building a Bridge at 47 km (2014)Self Portrait: Dreaming at 47 km (2013)Self Portrait: Dancing at 47 km (2012)
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