The Chinese Mayor
DIRECTOR: Zhou Hao COUNTRY: China YEAR: 2014 LANGUAGE(S): Chinese SUBTITLES: English RUNNING TIME: 86 min
SECTION: International Forum 2015
SYNOPSIS
Once the thriving capital of Imperial China, the city of Datong now lies in near ruins. Not only is it the most polluted city in the country, it is also crippled by decrepit infrastructure and even shakier economic prospects. But Mayor Geng Yanbo plans to change all that, announcing a bold, new plan to return Datong to its former glory, the cultural haven it was some 1,600 years ago. Such declarations, however, come at a devastatingly high cost. Thousands of homes are to be bulldozed, and a half-million of its residents (30 percent of Datong’s total population) will be relocated under his watch. Whether he succeeds depends entirely on his ability to calm swarms of furious workers and an increasingly perturbed ruling elite. The Chinese Mayor captures, with remarkable access, a man and, by extension, a country leaping frantically into an increasingly unstable future.
The gigantic project for the future alone comprises enough material to make a fascinating film. But Zhou Hao succeeds in doing much more: For years, he attends all the negotiations, citizens’ gatherings, planning meetings and accompanies Tanbo to the construction sites and the new homes for those who have been resettled, creating a breathtaking portrait of a passionate workaholic and offering an incredible insight into the structures of an excessive society.
ZHOU HAO
Zhou Hao, born in 1968, started his career as a photographer for China’s national news group Xinhua News Agency and Southern Weekly. His debut documentary HOUJIE TOWNSHIP (2001) won the Black Pottery Award at the Yunnan Multi-Culture Visual Festival. He went on to direct SENIOR YEAR which won the Humanitarian Award for Best Documentary at the Hong Kong International Festival in 2006. Zhou Hao was invited to the jury of the Chicago International Festival in 2007.
FILMOGRAPHY
Houjie Township (2001), Senior Year (2006), Using (2008), The Transition Period (2009), Emergency Room China (2013), Cotton (2014), The Chinese Mayor (2015)
SCRIPT: Zhao Qi, Zhou Hao PRODUCER: Zhao Qi CAMERA: Zhou Hao, Zhang Tianhui EDITORS: Tom Lin, Yu Xiaochuan
PRODUCTION: Zhao Qi Films WORLD SALES: Zhao Qi