Youth (Hard Times)

In the garment workshops of Zhili, individual and collective stories unfold, becoming more earnest as the seasons pass by. Fu Yun makes mistake on mistake and is sorely mocked by his comrades. Xu Wanxiang loses his paybook and his boss refuses to pay his wages. In one workshop, the boss flee town. The workers find themselves alone, cheated out of the fruits of their labour. Hu Siwen recounts the 2011 riots in Zhili: the police brutality, imprisonments and fear. After some tough bargaining, the workers return home to celebrate the New Year.

In association with France Culture, introduced by a discussion between Wang Bing and Lucile Commeaux, critic and journalist on France Culture’s “Regard culturel”.