Chinese Documentary Film Festival will take place in Riga, which is initiated, organised by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Latvia. The film screenings of the film “Roof of the World” will take place for two days from November 27th to November 28th at 6 pm at theatre cinema “Splendid Palace” (Elizabetes street 61, Riga). Film screenings are created for public audience and free of charge.
A story of the film “Roof of the World” is a special view of the Tibet's everyday life, it is not a typical story for Chinese film industry. Even though the documentaries aren't really popular in China, a beautiful movie on Tibet has taken China by storm by simply showing the lives of ordinary people in a remote part of the world, which, thanks to the film, has lately garnered a surprising amount of attention. We hope that the same resonance it will achieve in Europe as well.
The success of “Roof of the World” demonstrates that the audience, especially the younger generation still has a strong appetite for good documentaries, says Wang Weilai, chief producer of the film. The movie succeeded in detailing daily lives and capturing the people's natural beauty, says Zhang Yun, director of the Institute of History Studies under China Tibetology Research Center.
"Through these everyday scenes, you can see how Tibet has developed, what has changed and what has not," says Zhang Yiwu, Peking University professor of Chinese Studies. I "The use of slow motion (in some places), to show things in an unhurried way, helps to bring out some of the essential spirit of Tibetan culture."
It's also admirable that these details are presented with "anthropological precision", says Zhang Yiwu. It approaches the major theme of man and nature by truthfully recording how small lives comply with, and consequently enrich the nature.
In the “Roof of the World”, a production by China Central Television, grand narratives and political themes are cast aside in favor of showing rich details about the everyday lives and natural landscapes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In the first month of broadcasting, the documentary has gained more than 25 million views on Youku.com (Chinese version of YouTube), becoming the second most watched locally produced documentary, after the phenomenally popular A Bite of China series. The Tibet documentary was also rated 9.1 out of 10 on Douban.com, China's largest film review site.
An English version of Roof of the World has already aired in the international networks of National Geographic Channel.
Riga audience will have the chance to watch Roof of the World on 27th and 28th November, during Chinese International Film Days, which will take place in the large hall of “Splendid Palace”.
Films will be screened in English with Latvian subtitles.
For getting free ticket visit bezrindas.lv.
