Warriors of Qiugang, The: A Chinese Village Fights Back

Nominated for an Oscar for Documentary Short Subject.

A heroic David vs. Goliath story over three years in the making, Ruby Yang’s powerful documentary presents an unflinching look at social upheaval in a rural China desperately reaching for modernity.

With their water and land poisoned by a neighboring chemical company, villagers, led by farmer Zhang Gongli, filed a suit against their polluting enemy. Their subsequent loss resulted in five years of petitions, demonstrations, local media and environmental activism. This film follows Zhang as he travels to the nation’s capital to curb local officials and hold volatile meetings with factory representatives.

Yang presents an unforgettable portrait of villagers struggling to fight the industrial behemoth of 21st century China, yet being unavoidably transformed by it along the way.

Preceded by:

Tonghzi in Love

DIRECTOR: RUBY YANG ·PRODUCER THOMAS LENNON ·CHINA ·2008 ·30 MIN ·CHINESE

“Frog” Cui and his friends navigate the dilemmas of being gay in modern China, torn between the lures of city life and the unyielding traditions by which they were raised. Frog loves his parents: does that mean he must honor his duty to them by marrying and bearing a child?

The Blood of Yingzhou District

DIRECTOR: RUBY YANG ·PRODUCER THOMAS LENNON ·CHINA ·2006 ·39 MIN ·CHINESE

Academy Award Winner 2006. A year in the life of children in the remote villages of Anhui Province, China, who have lost their parents to AIDS. Traditional obligations to family and village collide with terror of the disease.

Print Source: Thomas Lennon Films, Inc., Jason Spinos, jasonspinos@gmail.com