China on Film: The New Millennium (DVD)

Zeitgeist Films presents six award-winning documentaries and feature films that examine the human side of China's rapidly changing social, economic and political landscape in the 21st century. DISC ONE: CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT (2012 72 min) Directed by Yung Chang. The award-winning Canadian filmmaker follows a charismatic boxing champion and coach who recruits youngsters from impoverished villages across Sichuan province to train the next generation of Olympic hopefuls. DISC TWO: LAST TRAIN HOME (2010 87 min) Directed by Lixin Fan. China's New Year holiday sees the world's largest human migration, as 130 million migrant workers travel from city to countryside. This acclaimed documentary traces one couple that makes the arduous journey every year. DISC THREE: UP THE YANGTZE (2008 93 min) Directed by Yung Chang Chang's riveting debut feature documentary traces the bizarre Upstairs, Downstairs life of one farewell cruise on the Yangtze River, and the landscape's dramatic transformation wrought by the Three Gorges Dam project. DISC FOUR: YOUNG & RESTLESS IN CHINA (2008 106 min) Directed by Sue Williams Produced for the prestigious PBS Frontline series, this documentary from the maker of China: A Century of Revolution examines the ambitions and struggles of twenty- and thirty-something's across the country. DISC FIVE: THE WORLD (2005 139 min) Directed by Jia Zhangke a surreal Beijing amusement park an actual tourist spot that feels like a combo platter of Vegas and Epcot is the backdrop for this riveting dramedy from the master filmmaker behind Platform, Still Life and a Touch of Sin.