Tiexi qu [West of the Tracks] (Wang Bing, 2002)

Part I: Rust explores the legacy of fifty years of Chinese central economic planning and the ways in which Chinese individuals, families and society have been shaped by decades of living under the socialist economic system. The film focuses on the daily lives and work routines of Chinese workers in three different financially troubled state-owned factories within the Tiexi district of northeastern China. As the factories slide closer and closer to bankruptcy, massive layoffs force workers out of their predictable, familiar factory environments and into an uncertain and frightening future.

Part II and Part III will be screened on 15 and 22 February at CINEMATEK.