Archive of films Old Fool Who Moved the Mountains / Yugong Yishan

China / Thailand / Philippines
2008, 30 min

Section: Documentary Films - Competition
Year: 2009

Vasquez Joanna Arong (Neo-Lounge screened at the 42nd KV IFF) takes the viewer from a Chinese fable through Mao’s Little Red Book and on to an independent music bar in Beijing. This emotionally compelling movie takes a closer look at contemporary China as seen by peculiar "old fools,” whose perseverance can change the world.

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.

Contacts

Strategy613
21-01 CRC Tower, All Seasons Place, 87 Wireless Road, 10330, Bangkok
Thailand
Tel: +66 2 654 1415
Fax: +66 2 654 1416
E-mail: [email protected]

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About the film

Color, HD CAM
European premiere

Section:	Documentary Films - Competition

Director:	Joanna Vasquez Arong
Screenplay:	Joanna Vasquez Arong
Dir. of Photography:	Guillaume Vandenberghe
Music:	Cédric Murrath
Editor:	Joanna Vasquez Arong, Lee Chatametikool
Producer:	Joanna Vasquez Arong
Production:	Old Fool Films
Contact:	Strategy613

Guests

Joanna Vasquez Arong

Film Director