Selected Comments by the Viewers

This project hands the equipment to peasant villagers who have, before this time, been a usual object of the camera’s lens.  But it is not just a matter of reversing the lens.  The peasant filmmakers also came to Beijing and attended a  workshop where they got some training –you could see it in their productions.  They took on a perspective akin to Wu’s own—close in, among the people they were shooting. In fact, they were often more deliberately self-reflexive than their teacher.  We hear their own their own murmured commentary—not exactly voiceover—or their off-camera questions, or even see them in the frame.  Thus they conveyed simply and forcefully that this was their world by documenting their own places within it, crouching in front of the camera and talking to us about the village in the background, or running around the tripod and squatting down to fill out a ballot, joking vigorously with fellow villagers.

Can you have a civil society, and modern things like elections if people do not have a sense of their own world?  And what if people get a sense of their world nowadays very much by seeing representations of it in media?  IF this is true, then control of images is very important, and sharing that power, the power to show the world to yourself, is really an important form of new public politics.   What if this new power  becomes a way for people to develop a sense of themselves as subjects of not only a “nation” but of a human world?  Wu made me ask myself, how useful can a camera be in creating a new sense of relationship between the self and the world?  It is obviously silly to clam that these kinds of projects can directly change the world.  Maybe the melon field will still e invaded by tress, or the quarry will be sold —but making (AND SEEING)  films like these can, and do—I think—definitely start to change people’s RELATIONSHIP to the world.  That is what we mean by media—something that is in the middle and can make relationships change…..
-- Angela Zito, Professor, New York University

[T]here are a couple things that are really distinctive about this project. One is really the respect that comes through.  [...]  To not only put the cameras in the hands of peasants, but also to respect their intelligence and that they have analytical acumen to reflect on their lives in their villages – it’s really quite distinctive for me. So -- I can’t say enough good things about this kind of project.  [...]  In terms of looking at the content of the films [...] I was struck by a couple things. One is that there is a great amount of variety among the village experiences, as I’m sure was obvious. [...] [T]he concept of “politics” is broadened out by this film. Because even though the film is ostensibly about elections, it’s truly about the politics of every-day life and the importance of trying to figure out anything that is relevant in terms of a viable life in the countryside. So that could mean any issue – a fight between a married couple, this fight over land distribution, the distribution of welfare money – all the different issues that came up in every day life is part of politics. So it’s really important that these filmmakers see that – it’s not just us seeing that, but they are teaching us that. [...] But one thing I really loved about these films is that the indirect presence of these larger contexts comes through via the materiality of every day life. [...] And my hope is that they will continue filming their villages for the next twenty years – [...] I think that would be very, very important.
-- Lisa Rofel, Professor of Anthropology, UC Santa Cruz

China's pioneer documentary filmmaker Wu Wenguang has shot Chinese social problems since first picking up a camera in the late 1980s. These concerns are evident in his landmark films Beijing Drifters and On the Road, intimate portraits of people on the fringe. [...] Now Wu has found a way to share his skills with a wider audience, many of whom are well familiar with the hardships his work depicts.  [...]  For now, documentary film may be one of the most dynamic mediums through which China's governance issues are being communicated. Wu's efforts to bring a diverse set of filmmakers together is just one example of China's artistic community working in recent years to bridge the gaps in dialogue about the country's most pressing problems.
-- Caroline Cooper, Capturing China's problems on film, Asia Times, Nov 29, 2005

[This] documentary is one of the most important films I have seen in many years.  It gives the viewer a unique and original view of the rural areas and an important part of their governance system.  Anyone interested in China, and in fine, creative filmmaking should see it.  The team, and its director have bought forth a social masterpieces.
-- Martin Garbus, American lawyer

I found both [Seen and Heard] and the villagers' shorts fascinating. I was particularly impressed by the subtle narrative voice adopted in a number of the villagers' films: showing, not telling, is such a powerful means of expression.
                                                                                      -- Dr. Jane Nolan, University of Cambridge

"The movie went beyond my expectation of what I envisioned villagers could do with their new gadgets. I was very impressed by the diversity of the candidates selected within such a short notice. The results convinced me how eager the farmers wanted to express their understandings and wanted their voices to be heard. I was very moved by
the stories these villages perceived and constructed - a bit raw but very fresh and honest. The idea of giving voice to those underprivileged farmers is terrific and promising - the one from Shandong, for example, already showed sophistication in their shooting.  I'd like to see more such works. The complimentary documentary on how they participated in the program is also very interesting and sheds lights on the subtle dynamics going on along the process and how the farmers' perceptions changed over time. "
-- Ling Minhua, PhD Candidate, Yale University

The Village Documentary Project beautifully explored social and political aspects of everyday life in today's China.  The villagers' vignettes illuminated their situations with warmth, poise, and humor.  The overwhelming humanity of this project profoundly touched myself, and the entire audience at Columbia University.  We eagerly await updates about all of their lives!
-- Lisa Karz, Columbia University