DGenerate Films
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines for companies and organizations. (October 2009) |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | film distribution  |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Karin Chien |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York |
| Products | Film distribution, international co-production |
| Website | dGenerateFilms.com |
dGenerate Films is a non-theatrical distributor of award-winning independent films from China. Their aim is to bring more images of contemporary life in mainland China to U.S. audiences.[1] The company was launched in 2008 by American independent film veterans, including producer Karin Chien.[2] dGenerate Films has the international rights to nearly forty independent Chinese films, and they distribute them abroad mostly to educational institutions and festivals, though they also are available to a general audience. Many of them are smuggled illegally out of China, where the uncensored films are considered to be counter-government.[3]
Examples of releases include:
- 1408, a documentary on the effects of the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake on the lives of rural people near the epicenter
- Betelnut, a narrative following the love, work, and aimless pursuits of 21st century teenagers in a sleepy riverside city in rural China
- Disorder, a documentary featuring chaotic, humorous and provocative found video images of life in China's booming cities
- Dong, a documentary following artist Liu Xiaodong as he paints workers demolishing an ancient town in advance of the new Three Gorges Dam
- Fujian Blue, a narrative film on the lives of young men, aspiring small-time hoods, in a fast-paced corner of coastal China
- Ghost Town, a documentary tracing the lives of a Christian community in decline in a remote corner of southwestern China
- In Search of Lin Zhao's Soul, a documentary on the legacy of Lin Zhao, a young woman rebel who died in the 1960s Cultural Revolution
- Little Moth, a narrative film about a young girl who is forced by her adoptive parents to beg for money on the streets
- Karamay, a documentary of personal testimonies on a mysterious 1994 fire that resulted in the death of Uighur people in Xinjiang Province
- Meishi Street, a documentary following the demolishing of an ordinary neighborhood in Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Olympics
- The Other Half, a narrative in which a young woman tries to escape a destructive lover and the toxic natural environment of her city
- Oxhide, a narrative in which filmmaker Liu Jiayin presents an intimate, funny, fictionalized portrait of her working class Beijing family
- Queer China Comrade China, a documentary about the history of gay rights and the place of homosexuality in modern Chinese culture
- San Yuan Li, a documentary tracing a traditional village which has been surrounded by the postmodern megalopolis of Guangzhou
- Struggle, a documentary focused on workers who suffered severe injuries in a high tech factory manufacturing products for western export
- Using, a documentary showing the troubled relations between a drug addict, his girlfriend, and the filmmaker eager to expose their lives
- When the Bough Breaks, a documentary on a Beijing family suffering hard times, whose children take responsibility to support each other
References
- ^ NPR. "Exit the Dragon: New Views of China." http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/05/exit_the_dragon_new_views_of_c_1.html
- ^ dGenerate Films. "About" http://dgeneratefilms.com/about/
- ^ Rohter, Larry (February 17, 2011). "Indie Films From a Land Short on Independence". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
External links and further reading
- Hand Held Camera: China's independent film scene by Christen Cornell at Artspace China, 28 September 2010