The Chinese Mayor
This year’s Sundance Film Festival yielded a triumphant moment for Chinese documentary film, when The Chinese Mayor, the latest effort by acclaimed director Zhou Hao and producer Qi Zhao, winning a special jury award. However, of the many independent documentaries that have come from China over the past three decades, this is only the sixth to be featured at Sundance, according to a recent article by Genevieve Carmel. This prompts Carmel to ask “Why don’t Chinese docs go to Sundance?” a question she probes at length in her article, drawing on numerous resources to present her findings.
The article is part of the website Crows & Sparrows, a new initiative “that seeks to create and enhance opportunities for independent media exchange between North American and East/Southeast Asia through regular curation and visiting filmmaker programs.” The current focus of Crows & Sparrows is on connecting film circles in Boston and Beijing. The initiative is founded by three of the most ardent supporters of contemporary Chinese independent cinema: Genevieve Carmel, Benny Shaffer and Zhou Xin. Crows & Sparrows will put its initial efforts to developing screening programs with visiting filmmakers in Boston and sharing news of other related events and international filmmaker opportunities.
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