GOING TO TOWN (62)

16:30, Saturday 30th June, Thaw

Since the 1990s, most of the young farmers in China have been obliged to join the tide of migrants hoping to make a living in town. Li Zhenjing is an ordinary farmer of Qianjiang District, Chongqing. In order to make enough money and provide a good education for his children, Li went to the town, as many other farmers do. But unlike most of them, Li chose to go back his homeland after he found a good job in the city. Why did he return to his land? By recording the experiences of Li and his family over the last 5 years, this film tries to express the happiness and sadness, the bewilderment and hope of Chinese farmers how have joined the tide of urban migrants.

Bei Xu is a producer in the Documentary Department, Chongqing Broadcasting Group, based in Southwest China. She studied English Language and Literature at Sichuan University, graduated in 1993 and joined Chongqing Broadcasting Group four years later. Her films mainly concern the transformation of rural areas of Southwest China, particularly the Three Gorges area. Her principal films include Xi Xiaoyu, which was runner-up at the 2004 China Television Broadcasting and News Awards, and On Her Way Downtown - A Story about Chen Xiaomei, which was awarded the Chinese Rainbow Award, Golden Eagle's "Excellent Documentary" and the Starlight Cup Award.

In 2006, she won a Chevening Scholarship to study in the UK by the Foreign Office and is currently enrolled on a postgraduate programme in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Bei Xu will be present at the festival and will be presenting her film in person