Filming the disappearance of a village
By Chehui Peh |
April 20, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FEW stories better encapsulate the urbanization of rural China, its problems and possibilities, than the transformation of obscure White Horse Village, hidden for centuries in the mountains beyond the Three Gorges project.
Once a farming village of several hundred people, White Horse Village has ceased to exist, its residents departed or living far above the earth in concrete high-rise apartments. It's now part of Wuxi New City near Chongqing Municipality in Sichuan Province.
The story of the demolition and transformation of White Horse Village (Baimacun) is also a story of anger, fear, confusion, resignation, adaptation, hope and for some, new beginnings and success.
It was filmed over six years starting in 2006 by cinematographer and director Al Go. It won the Peabody documentary award in 2008 and the Emmy for best documentary in 2009. It was a six-episode BBC series that was shown again in March; it will be shown again in coming months.
In miniature, the series tells the story of the greatest urbanization movement in history and the issues it depicts are pressing ones today.
Shanghai Daily interviewed award-winning director Al Go (shortened from his Japanese name Al Gorito) who describes his job as a combination of a pictorial storyteller and an archivist.
"There are many things going on in society and my job is to encapsulate (these moments with pictures) so people elsewhere, as well as people in future can experience it as well," said the Chinese-Japanese filmmaker who was born in Japan.
Al Go has been based in Beijing for the last eight years after stints in Shanghai and Tokyo. He is working on a few other films and there are National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries still in production. He was executive director of the "Rebuilding Japan" series that was first aired on Discovery International in early March and is being re-aired.
He teaches at local colleges, saying it's important to pass on the art and storytelling of filmmaking. Al is also managing director for Infocus Asia, a production company, where he writes, directors, produces and works as cinematographer.
Al's father is Chinese Malay and his mother is Japanese. He spent his childhood and teenage years in Japan and America. He studied Chinese and Chinese literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he also studied architecture.
Al started out as a news cameraman and later became director of photography for BBC Documentaries.
With a background in both architecture and literature, his work is simple and dramatic, aesthetically pleasing yet realistic.
Although China's cities have been documented extensively, Al finds the countryside changes more tumultuous. Demolitions are major issues around the country and many farmers say their land is being taken without fair compensation in municipal deals with developers.
"I think China has reached the point where many people in the cities have become affluent, and now, the countryside is catching up. There are a lot of stories that can and should be told from the countryside," Al said about the decision to focus on White Horse Village.
Together with BBC presenter and Mandarin speaker Carrie Gracie and producer Warwick Harrington, the trio came up with a plan to document momentous changes in the countryside by focusing on White Horse Village. It examines social changes through the eyes of individual characters - most prominently a farmer, the Party secretary and a resident who became a businessman, cashed in on the boom and got rich quick.
"It's like showing the ocean by looking at one drop of water from it," Al explained. "We wanted to provoke thought and an awareness that changes like the ones happening in Baimacun are taking place all over the country."
He especially remembers Episode 2 (2007) when the villagers came together for their last Chinese Lunar New Year's celebration together in the village. "It was a bittersweet moment. They were having a great time together setting off the fireworks, but in their hearts they knew it would never be the same again," Al said.
He says the "most difficult moment" was Episode 4 (2009), when the village Party secretary was filmed standing among the rubble of his home, talking to his wife who was angry because he didn't protect the family. "He was one of the first to have his home demolished to set an example for others. He was torn between family and duty," Al said.
He finds the human and environmental costs of record-breaking urbanization to be deeply worrying. But he sees no way to halt the changes that are the often unfortunate by-products of development. At the time choices were made, there seemed to be few alternatives, he said.
"I do think the country can try to manage them and minimize their negative impact," he said. "It's time for China to go for quality growth, instead of the past huge leaps. I think we need to reflect more ... The only thing we can do is remember our lessons so next time we can do better."
The need to reflect and learn from the past is one reason why film and photographic records taken over time are so important.
"They provoke, reflect and affect attitudes," he said, but admitted their impact is "limited."
With his personal appreciation for the film medium and his strong desire for pictorial storytelling, Al calls his job a "total slog," but it keeps him fueled and enthusiastic for challenging projects.
"It's a prodigious amount of work with tons of headaches and obstacles along the way, but there are many psychological, intellectual and emotional rewards," he said. "You have got to love what you're doing and be able to enjoy the process. It's the raw desire to keep going that results in an idea turning into a real film."
As for storytelling, Al said it's "important that you don't force the narratives and your characters into preconceived sets of values or your position on certain issues."
Once a farming village of several hundred people, White Horse Village has ceased to exist, its residents departed or living far above the earth in concrete high-rise apartments. It's now part of Wuxi New City near Chongqing Municipality in Sichuan Province.
The story of the demolition and transformation of White Horse Village (Baimacun) is also a story of anger, fear, confusion, resignation, adaptation, hope and for some, new beginnings and success.
It was filmed over six years starting in 2006 by cinematographer and director Al Go. It won the Peabody documentary award in 2008 and the Emmy for best documentary in 2009. It was a six-episode BBC series that was shown again in March; it will be shown again in coming months.
In miniature, the series tells the story of the greatest urbanization movement in history and the issues it depicts are pressing ones today.
Shanghai Daily interviewed award-winning director Al Go (shortened from his Japanese name Al Gorito) who describes his job as a combination of a pictorial storyteller and an archivist.
"There are many things going on in society and my job is to encapsulate (these moments with pictures) so people elsewhere, as well as people in future can experience it as well," said the Chinese-Japanese filmmaker who was born in Japan.
Al Go has been based in Beijing for the last eight years after stints in Shanghai and Tokyo. He is working on a few other films and there are National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries still in production. He was executive director of the "Rebuilding Japan" series that was first aired on Discovery International in early March and is being re-aired.
He teaches at local colleges, saying it's important to pass on the art and storytelling of filmmaking. Al is also managing director for Infocus Asia, a production company, where he writes, directors, produces and works as cinematographer.
Al's father is Chinese Malay and his mother is Japanese. He spent his childhood and teenage years in Japan and America. He studied Chinese and Chinese literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he also studied architecture.
Al started out as a news cameraman and later became director of photography for BBC Documentaries.
With a background in both architecture and literature, his work is simple and dramatic, aesthetically pleasing yet realistic.
Although China's cities have been documented extensively, Al finds the countryside changes more tumultuous. Demolitions are major issues around the country and many farmers say their land is being taken without fair compensation in municipal deals with developers.
"I think China has reached the point where many people in the cities have become affluent, and now, the countryside is catching up. There are a lot of stories that can and should be told from the countryside," Al said about the decision to focus on White Horse Village.
Together with BBC presenter and Mandarin speaker Carrie Gracie and producer Warwick Harrington, the trio came up with a plan to document momentous changes in the countryside by focusing on White Horse Village. It examines social changes through the eyes of individual characters - most prominently a farmer, the Party secretary and a resident who became a businessman, cashed in on the boom and got rich quick.
"It's like showing the ocean by looking at one drop of water from it," Al explained. "We wanted to provoke thought and an awareness that changes like the ones happening in Baimacun are taking place all over the country."
He especially remembers Episode 2 (2007) when the villagers came together for their last Chinese Lunar New Year's celebration together in the village. "It was a bittersweet moment. They were having a great time together setting off the fireworks, but in their hearts they knew it would never be the same again," Al said.
He says the "most difficult moment" was Episode 4 (2009), when the village Party secretary was filmed standing among the rubble of his home, talking to his wife who was angry because he didn't protect the family. "He was one of the first to have his home demolished to set an example for others. He was torn between family and duty," Al said.
He finds the human and environmental costs of record-breaking urbanization to be deeply worrying. But he sees no way to halt the changes that are the often unfortunate by-products of development. At the time choices were made, there seemed to be few alternatives, he said.
"I do think the country can try to manage them and minimize their negative impact," he said. "It's time for China to go for quality growth, instead of the past huge leaps. I think we need to reflect more ... The only thing we can do is remember our lessons so next time we can do better."
The need to reflect and learn from the past is one reason why film and photographic records taken over time are so important.
"They provoke, reflect and affect attitudes," he said, but admitted their impact is "limited."
With his personal appreciation for the film medium and his strong desire for pictorial storytelling, Al calls his job a "total slog," but it keeps him fueled and enthusiastic for challenging projects.
"It's a prodigious amount of work with tons of headaches and obstacles along the way, but there are many psychological, intellectual and emotional rewards," he said. "You have got to love what you're doing and be able to enjoy the process. It's the raw desire to keep going that results in an idea turning into a real film."
As for storytelling, Al said it's "important that you don't force the narratives and your characters into preconceived sets of values or your position on certain issues."
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