Emergency Shelter

He Yang

Release year: 2010

Run time: 55 mins

Film type: Documentary

Because of handling a human rights case, lawyer Ni Yulan was beaten and tortured to disability by the police, and twice she was framed and imprisoned for a total of three years. In prison, because she would not yield, she was subjected to inhuman abuses. To retaliate against her, the police also forcibly demolished and robbed her of her home, and so when Ni was released from prison, she and her husband had to live on the streets. However, her optimistic spirit and indomitable courage has won her the love of the people.

Independent documentary filmmaker
Born in 1970

From 2010 to 2011, he made a number of documentaries on human rights and social movements. They are: "Disbarment ", a film documenting the suppression of Chinese human rights lawyers by the government and the illegal revocation of their lawyers' licenses, "Emergency Shelter", a film documenting the torture and displacement of legal rights defender Ni Yulan by the Chinese government, "Herzog’s Days", a film reflecting the social movement and street protests triggered by the "Fujian Three Netizens Case", "Blood Years", a film documenting the arrest of AIDS rights activist Tian Xi, and "Fanjun City", a film documenting the survival of landless peasants. Among them, "Herzog’s Days" won the Citizen Award at the 1st Sunside of the Doc.

He has been blacklisted since he made a human rights documentary in 2010 and restricted from leaving the country, followed and placed under house arrest for a long time, beaten, raided, arrested and illegally detained by the police several times.

He emigrated to the United States in 2015.
He completed the documentary "No Retreat" in 2017, reflecting on human rights lawyers in China.

Film Database

Emergency Shelter