Title
Film Screening: “Lost Course: A Small Chinese Village’s Big Protest”
Abstract
This was a documentary film screening followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker, Jill Li.
First time documentarian Jill Li witnessed an unprecedented experiment in local democracy while embedding herself in the village of Wukan, southern China for several years starting in 2011. Corrupt officials had illegally sold villagers’ land, but the villagers decided to fight back.
The documentary–which won the award for Best Documentary at the 2020 Golden Horse Awards–was divided into two halves: the first, “Protests”, depicted the grassroots activities of Wukan residents as they worked to reverse the land sales and gained a substantial measure of control over their local territory. The film showed how the villagers themselves learn to organize elections, form alliances, and win support. Part two, “After Protests”, charted the collapse of idealism as the newly elected village government found itself mired in the same kind of corrupt dealings they had originally condemned.
This event was sponsored by CEAS and the Art History department.
Biography
Jill Li graduated from the City University of Hong Kong and is a first-time documentarian.