A HARSH TRANSITION

By Juan LI

ICTV / ECRANS DES MONDES - as PROD

Documentary - Completed 2018

The implementation of the capitalist system can bring along a few surprises

Festivals
& Awards

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (online) 2021
Doc Market
    • Year of production
    • 2018
    • Genres
    • Documentary
    • Countries
    • CHINA
    • Languages
    • CHINESE, ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN, GERMAN
    • Budget
    • 1 - 3 M$
    • Duration
    • 85 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Juan LI
    • Synopsis
    • In the 1950s, a scientific elite with individuals chosen from all over the country, even abroad was assembled to develop the nuclear power of China in an offside area of the desert Gobi, northwest China ; After the Economic reform and open up, in the 1980s, for nestling the fami-ly of the employees, government supported them by importing the advanced technologies abroad and established the largest factory of TiO2 (titanium dioxide) of China. In 2007, HYTD is listed.

      In 2009, the global financial crisis and the transformation of China’s economic system strike the company down and put the1200 employees struggling on the edge of poverty. Live or die? A battle was waged between different parties: employees, manager, investors, share-holders…Through years of tracking, this documentary shows the true battle of this Chinese company within a hybrid communist-liberal economy. The ups and downs of this struggle is vividly narrated through the interviews from different angles with all the critical people in-volved.

      The destiny of an enterprise in a centrally organised economy is determined by government policies; and the fate of every individual involved is influenced by the entity’s decisions. Such conflictual situation is a particular phenomenon in China’s economic transformation. From viewing this documentary, audience will get a thorough picture of how Chinese enterprises and their people survive in a complex and volatile society in transition. It shows how the ups and downs of an important enterprise affect each individual, and also how actually the so-called economic reforms can impact realities in contemporary China.