My Land
Fan Jian
Release year: 2015
Run time: 83 mins
Film type: Documentary
Synopsis
Chen Jun is a migrant farmer who moves his family to Beijing from Hebei Province in search of better opportunities. However, the Chen’s sudden eviction for a property development project up-ends their lives. Though their neighbours leave following intimidation by their landlord, the Chens refuse to leave. Since they have no official status or residency rights in Beijing, they have nothing to lose by standing up to their evictors. Using a video camera as both weapon and witness, they document the years of unscrupulous attacks. Against the odds, they continue to cultivate both their family and their vegetables, all the while holding at bay the construction that threatens to engulf them.
Director biography
Fan Jian is a documentary director who focuses on Chinese social issues through character-driven storytelling. He is a Documentary branch member of the Academy. Fan has directed six feature-length documentary films, including Still Tomorrow, winner of a Special Jury Award at IDFA 2016, and My Land , supported by the Sundance Documentary Fund. His work has also screened in competition at Hot Docs, Full Frame, Sheffield, Busan, and dozens of other film festivals around the world. Fan studied at the famed Beijing Film Academy and is now based in Chongqing, China.