WILD GRASS
CHN/FRA 2010 – Director: Yang Lina – Original language: Chinese – Subtitles: Chinese, English – Length: 76 min.
- “Where do you come from?”
- “I don’t know.”
- “Where are you going?”
- “Just onwards.”
A dialogue between the filmmaker, Yang Lina, and Hong Jun, an orphan from the Chinese provincial town of Quingdao. He is one of the many abandoned and neglected children who live here. They have never experienced love and care; there is no space for that. The boys and girls cannot rely on anyone but themselves. They are rootless and marginalised. They will have to struggle with this for their whole lives. The filmmaker Yang Lina approaches these children gently and follows them over the course of 12 years through the experiences of growing up and the search for independence._This expertly recounted long-term documentary project is harrowing and moving and develops a strong intimacy with these abandoned souls. “You can only survive when you struggle,” says Hong Jun.
English/Original Title: Ye Cao. Writer: Lina Yang. Camera: Lina Yang. Sound: Lina Yang. Editing: Mary Stephen. Production: Institut National de L'audiovisue. Producer: Chinese Shadow. Co-Producers: INA.fr. International Sales: INA
