Three Letters from China
Description
In the final film of his Asian trilogy, Swiss director Luc Schaedler presents three diverse, intimate and well-crafted portraits of life in contemporary China, each segment presenting an evocative and penetrating study of a different region. In the north, an elderly couple tenaciously clings to their family farm long after everyone else in the village, while their son and his wife negotiate a harsh existence in one of many grim industrial zones. An ancient rice-growing village in lush Guangxi Province in the south still struggles to heal the deep wounds inflicted during the upheaval, devastation and brutality of the Cultural Revolution. The final segment is a captivating and unusual glimpse of life in the modern mega-city of Chongqing on the Yangtze River. On the surface, the three depictions are transfixing and exotic, yet the themes and struggles that arise are startlingly familiar: small farmers are unable to make a living, fishermen are running out of fish to catch and families worry about job security. Over tea in a simple Chongqing cafe, a man speaks passionately of the deepening divide between the rich and the poor, and the world seems to be shrinking as he speaks. –Gustavus Kundahl
Born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1963, Luc Schaedler studied cultural anthropology and film, eventually heading the department of Visual Anthropology at the University of Zurich. An independent filmmaker and producer since 1996, Schaedler has completed three documentaries that comprise his Asian trilogy: Made In Hong Kong (1997); Angry Monk: Reflections On Tibet (2005), which was nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize; and Three Letters from China (2013).
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/88909403?autoplay=1Film Details
Language Mandarin
Year 2013
Premiere North American
Runtime 80
Country Switzerland
Director Luc Schaedler
Producer Luc Schaedler
Writer Luc Schaedler
Editor Martin Witz
Cinematographer Luc Schaedler
Music Roland Widmer
Print Source Wide House/ infos@widehouse.org