Director: Yung Chang

Distributor: Zeitgeist Films, www.zeitgeistfilms.com

 

UP THE YANGTZE offers an astonishing look into a world about to be lost forever. Three Gorges Dam on China’s Yangzte River is due to be completed in 2011 as the world’s largest electricity-generating plant – and one of the most controversial. This gargantuan dam provides a stunning and disquieting backdrop for UP THE YANGTZE, a dramatic feature documentary that juxtaposes the massive project with the poignant story of a young local girl, Yu Shui. Although her family members are among the two million people losing their livelihoods to the project, Yu Shui must seek work with Farewell Cruises – a company offering, ironically, boat tours of her unique world before it is destroyed. Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang directs this spectacularly photographed film, drawing inspiration from contemporary Asian cinema and post-war neorealism. A compassionate account of peasant life and a powerful view of contemporary China.