Waiting in yet another line... this time to grab some grub at the Main Street Deli after seeing our first two screenings of the day. Just about half an hour ago we got out of a screening of On A Tightrope, a film showing in World Documentary Competition. This film focuses on the Uighur people, China's largest Muslim minority. What's striking about this film is that it's the first one to be made by a foreigner in a region where information is strictly controlled and contact with foreigners is curtailed. Director Petr Lom somehow managed to convince the Chinese government to allow him access to an orphanage over a period of 18 months where he filmed the stories of four children learning the ancient Uighur tradition of tightrope walking. It's a pretty powerful story that ultimately turns toward a small bit of hope for the children. What I respected most about the film was the fact that Petr consciously chose to limit the amount of politically sensitive material and focus more on the story of the children themselves. Petr made it very clear while speaking after the film that he wanted more than anything to protect the people featured in the film and to not make it a "political" piece about the blatant human rights violations that were clearly a daily part of their lives. If this film gets picked up by a US distributor, I definitely recommend checking it out.
Screening before On A Tightrope was a 13 minute documentary short titled Tanju Miah that paints a short portrait of a nine year old boy in Bangladesh who cleans tables at a roadside food stand in a distant rura area. He was abandoned by his mother some time before and now dreams of her return. Very interesting glimpse into a life very different from my own. Also very depressing.
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