Truth or Trash

• Source: Global Times
• [21:50 November 02 2009]
• Comments

Documentary lovers and independent producers attend a training session. Photos: Courtesy of CNEX and Channel Zero Media

By Jiang Xueqing

Hailed for its "sincere and human-oriented" approach by the jury, 1428 by Du Haibin won best documentary at the 66th Venice Film Festival on September 12.

Named after the devastating Sichuan earthquake that struck at 14:28 China standard time May 12 last year, the film focuses not just on the deadly disaster itself, but also on the poignant attempts of survivors to rebuild their lives amidst the rubble.

One month after being honored abroad for his prestigious international triumph, the Global Times contacted Du and asked him where people here in China could go see it.

"You can't find it anywhere for now," he said.

The film is being sent around some other film festivals, according to the CNEX Foundation who are funding and marketing 1428. It might be screened later at university halls, maybe the CNEX café in Beijing. DVDs will go on sale next year.

In Taiwan and Hong Kong only.

Chinese mainlanders, meanwhile, probably won't ever see, let alone buy the DVD. They must search online for occasional screening information on popular cultural review websites such as www.douban.com. Expat residents unable to read Chinese will just have to hope they get lucky, as English language information, let alone subtitles, is a rare and precious thing in the world of independent documentaries.

The longsuffering film fans of the mainland have long enjoyed extremely limited access to independent documentaries. A documentary film distributor told the Global Times most of the films in her office couldn't be found anywhere else.

"At first we were a little vain and excited about being the only company that has so many good documentaries," said Zheng Qiong, a producer at Channel Zero Media. "But we soon realized it was a big problem. After watching the films, we have no one to communicate with!"