The Family (家族) & The Road (路)

The Family (家族) & The Road (路)

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Auditorium (Room 101), Henry R. Luce Hall See map
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 6511

The Family 家族
Directed by Jia Ding, 2006 (56 min.)

Shuangfeng (“Double Phoenix”) Village is a walled village of Tujia nationality in western Hunan Province. Full of descendants of the Peng household, this single-surname family village is several hundred years old. Divided into three sub-branches, Dafang (“big house”), Erfang (“second house”) and Sanfang (“third house”), the village is currently run by the latter two. The annual ancestral sacrificial ritual demands a presider and senior members of Erfang and Sanfang begin to compete for the position. At the same time, bi-annual democratic elections in rural China begin. Young people of Erfang and Sanfang are eager to run for the position of village head. Conflicts ensue both on the senior, traditional level and on the younger, democratic level. This documentary took six years to make.

中国是一个由家族组成的国家,其家族组织经历了大约3000年的历史,中国社会有着独特的影响。双凤村是湖南湘西的一个土家族寨子,寨子里的村民几乎全部 姓彭,彭氏家族经过几百年的繁衍,家族里分成大房、二房、三房三个分支,其中大房人少,二房和三房成了村里的主要势力。按照土家族传统,家族要定期举办祭 祖的活动,祭祖是需要一个主持的,二房长者和三房长者为此开始了竞争。恰逢此时,村里开始了两年一度的村民民主选举,两房的年轻人都对村长的职位跃跃欲 试。就这样,寨子里的老人们为了祭祖发生了矛盾,年轻人们为了当上村长开始了竞争。


The Road 路
Directed by Jia Ding, 2006 (56 min.)

Hou-yin-dou Village is located in Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province in the middle of the Loess Plateau of central China. A new road is desperately needed to improve the living and economic conditions of the villagers. Ms. Ji Qiaoling, a poverty alleviation official sent from the county government, starts fund-raising. She tries everything: pooling funds from local villagers, applying for support at the unresponsive county bureau of transportation, and finally turning to ask a local “big bill” (da kuan)—an illiterate rich mine-owner originally from the village. The rich guy does not give a clear answer. Ji Qiaoling and her fellow officials decide to host a theatrical performance in the village and invite the mine-owner back to his hometown. The performance starts, the rich guy is back, the banquet is on, and Ji is already slightly drunk, yet the “big bill” still holds back his promise…

故事发生在中国西部的黄土高原上,陕西省的米脂县后引斗村坐落在黄土高原深处,村子交通闭塞,经济落后。姬巧玲是乡政府下派到后印斗村的扶贫干部,她发现 村庄的道路是一条泥土路,每当下雨,上下学的孩子们的鞋子都会被土路上的泥巴粘掉,村里的果树结了果子也无法运到外面,于是姬巧玲决定和村干部们一起修 路。修路需要20万块钱,这对于一个贫穷的村庄来说是一笔天文数字般的巨款,姬巧玲开始了艰难的筹款工作,她准备向村民摊派,又向县交通局长申请资金,可 交通局长的态度让她流下了失望的眼泪,正在姬巧玲一愁莫展时,村民告诉她离村庄200多公里的煤矿里有一位早年从村子里出去的大款,大款虽然是文盲,但他 的钱可以用麻袋装。姬巧玲的心里又燃起了希望,她和村干部们一起经过长途颠簸来到大款的办公室,然而大款对于出资的态度并不明确。回到村子姬巧玲再生一 计,在村里准备了一场大戏,并且邀请大款回村看戏。大戏如期开幕,大款也回到了村子,酒席中姬巧玲喝的有些微醺,大款的态度仍然没有明朗……。在为修路筹 款的过程中,农村里不同身份的人相续登场,勾勒出了一幅中国当代农村的缩影。该片使用了部分人类学的工作方法,拍摄制作历时6年多时间。

REEL China Documentaries: Documentaries on issues in contemporary China by Chinese filmmakers and directors

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