Retrospective: Wang Bing | IDFA Festival

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Retrospective: Wang Bing

Retrospective: Wang Bing

In tribute to our Guest of Honor, IDFA presents six films directed by Wang Bing from 2002 to today. An uncompromising voice of present-day Chinese filmmaking, his work fearlessly chronicles socioeconomic transformations and challenging labor conditions in China.

A

Alone

Alone

Three sisters, still young children, live in poverty in a village in Yunnan province, China. Their mother has left and their father works in the city. They work on the land and go to school only occasionally, with no prospects for a better future.

M

Man in Black

Man in Black

Sitting naked in a beautifully lit theater in Paris and sometimes drowned out by his own music, 86-year-old composer Xilin Wang tells of his persecution in the name of Chinese Communism during the Cultural Revolution.

Mrs. Fang

Mrs. Fang

It is a privilege to be present at a person’s deathbed. With family members and neighbors crowded around her, Fang silently waits for her end to come. In calm observational style we experience the final days of her life.

T

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks

In long shots and piercing images, this meditative masterpiece shows the decline of the Tie Xi district, China’s biggest and oldest industrial area, and the consequences for the workers who remain.

’Til Madness Do Us Part

’Til Madness Do Us Part

What is life like when your world is no bigger than the neglected ward of a mental institution in China? Amidst despair and indefinite waiting, the search for human contact goes on.

Y

Youth (Spring)

Youth (Spring)

In this monumental documentary, Wang Bing observes the daily lives of young Chinese textile workers, who celebrate their youth and try to build a future between rattling sewing machines and messy dormitories.