Director Wang Bing On Conveying “Sensitivity” Toward Chinese Garment Workers’ Conditions In His Cannes Documentary ‘Youth (Spring)’

Wang Bing’s Youth (Spring), one of two documentaries in the main Cannes Film Festival competition in nearly 20 years, takes an interesting stance in its portrayal of the garment workers living in harsh conditions in China’s clothing capital of Zhili City.

In fact the docu, as Deadline’s Matt Carey says in his review, has a spice-of-life approach in showing the hustle and bustle of how these rural denizens find their way to the more economically vibrant areas along the Blue River delta and build lives together in harsh living conditions. Yet, the docu’s intent isn’t to expose abuse.

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“I’m someone who doesn’t get moved very easily,” Wang said Friday at the press conference for the film when asked about whether he was emotionally affected by the garment workers’ situation. “I only know how to do that is to make films. So, the way I convey my sensitivity is through the cinema and how I express myself. …The focus is the people who I’m filming.”

The said, the plight of the workers isn’t lost on Wang, particularly in China where the notion of destiny is prized.

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“Maybe in the western world, you talk about destiny or fate, we’re all animals and we’re bound to die one day, so basically people are referring to the natural process of life and death,” said the filmmaker, who shot the movie over a five-year time frame from 2014-2019.

“Of course, that is also part of what we mean when we talk about destiny in China,” he added. “For me, in China, I think there’s an additional dimension: how individuals manage to get as much power as possible.”

“I think that nobody wants to become someone else’s tool or instrument, is the reality of the situation,” he said. Wang described how he kept in contact with one worker after the time frame of shooting. “This man got married, then divorced and the family broke down. He had to raise a child by himself while he worked in these garment workshops.”

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“The upshot is that when it comes to the destiny of these individuals, it’s quickly changing. There’s been major changes; wonderful times from a human stance. As they are growing older, they are becoming adults.”

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