Farmer Zhao Tianyu filming a documentry. Photo by Huang Ying
So much has been written recently about the whole Shanzhai phenomenon, it’s easy to forget there are still some 地道山寨, or actual mountain fortresses out there. Just recently I came across the story of few such secluded villages in Sichuan province, who survived the earthquake and are being rebuilt.
I first heard about this project from my friend Geng Dong, a fantastic wildlife photographer working for the environmental NGO 山水 (Shan-Shui, mountain & water). The organisation (part of Conservation International) has been doing some research and educational fieldwork in five of Sichuan’s nature reserves for about five years.
The reserves, as well as the nearby villages, took a severe hit when the quake came, and the people of Shan-Shui were trying to find ways to both enhance the recovery of the reserves, and help the locals. Well, just like any other NGO in China, I suppose.
But what is unlike any of the other stories and reports I’ve heard or read or seen trying to narrate the Sichuan tragedy and the rebuilding efforts is that Shan Shui came up with a really great way to let the villagers tell their own stories – they gave them video cameras, some training, and the opportunity to make their own short films. thus was created “我们是主角“ – “We are the lead actors”, a collection of ten short films by amateur filmmakers/ Sichuanese farmers. You can watch all of them here (Chinese and a lot of Sichuanhua. No English subtitles, but there isn’t much talking in many of the films. They’re working on an English version and will appreciate some help if anyone has the time and linguistic skills).
The subjects for the films vary - rebuilding of a community centre, village meetings to discuss compensations and rehabilitation options, volunteers, road reconstruction, forest rangers in action, school activities, devastating flood, and more. One even dedicated the whole film to the life of birds around his village, with not a hint of the recent disaster. It’s not what you’d expect, it’s not really sensational, but hey, it’s his film!
In fact, none of the films is incredibly dramatic. They describe everyday’s life of ordinary people who have just happened to be going through a very extraordinary experience. They may never win any film critics award. They might, in fact, be boring to some. Personally, I find them fascinating.
Most of what we hear from Sichuan is either government propaganda or horror stories about corrupt officials and wronged parents who lost everything. Not that those stories aren’t important, but it’s just so refreshing to see and hear what some people in Sichuan are really going through, what are their interests and concerns and hopes, it’s so rarely you get a look through such people’s eyes.
ShanShui also made a short documentary on how the films were made, I’ll try to get permission and upload it here tomorrow.
Links:
Article in Hebrew if you’re readers of obscure languages or just want to see more photos
Geng Dong’s Blog (Chinese)
#1 by ForestWander Nature Photography on February 28th, 2009 - 9:17 am
I figure that there are a lot of wildlife and animals around there.