The Old Fool Who Moved the Mountains

Colour, HD CAM
China, Thailand, Philippines, 2008, 30 min
EP – European premiere
Section: Documentary Films in Competition

Synopsis

An ancient Chinese fable about a man whose perseverance allowed him to move a mountain. One of the stories in the Little Red Book which Mao required everyone to memorize during the Cultural Revolution. The name of an independent music bar in Beijing, in which owner Gouzi introduces unknown bands that are worthy of attention. All three are Yugong Yishan: "the old fool who moved the mountains”. Across three generations, the director contextualizes a disparate trio of meanings within a timeless story about the kind of modest eccentricity that can change the world through patience and diligence.

About the director

Joanna Vasquez Arong became a documentary filmmaker in her native Philippines. Following studies at foreign universities, she moved to Beijing in 2002 where she now works as a freelance filmmaker. After two short documentaries, she shot her feature film debut, Neo-Lounge (2007), which world premiered in the documentary competition at the 42nd KVIFF. The movie subsequently made the rounds of twenty festivals, winning four awards.