While China’s economic ascent commands global attention, less light has been shed upon the monumental problem of waste spawned by a burgeoning population, booming industry and insatiable urban growth. Award-winning photographer and director Wang Jiu-liang focuses his lens on the grim spectacle of waste, detritus and rubble unceremoniously piled upon the land surrounding China’s Olympic city, capital and megalopolis, Beijing. The film depicts the decimation of once-essential rivers and farmlands in the backdrop of gleaming high-speed trains, stadiums and skyscrapers; the sinister cyclical pattern of construction, consumption and garbage and moving images of the daily lives of scavengers who eek out a dangerous living, laboring at their own risk. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Directed and photographed by Wang Jiu-liang.

Beijing Besieged by Waste

2011 CN 72 min
Festival Year: 2013
Types: Documentary
Topic: Energy & Resources, Environmental Advocacy and Justice, Global Perspectives, Sustainable Living