''Petition'' () is a documentary released in 2009 by Chinese independent filmmaker
Zhao Liang. The film was screened as a Special Screening of the official selection of the
2009 Cannes Film Festival
The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...
.
Over the course of 12 years (1996-2008), director Zhao Liang follows the "petitioners", who travel from all over
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to the nation's capital,
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, to make complaints about injustices committed by authorities in their home towns and villages. Most petitioners wait for months or years for their grievances to be heard, while they live in makeshift shelters around the southern railway station of Beijing. All types of cases are represented: mothers of abused young soldiers, farmers thrown off their land, workers from demolished factories, and more. The documentary explores the
Sisyphean
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill ...
lives of the petitioners as they contend with the authorities and their own families in their struggle for restitution and survival. At times it was filmed with hidden cameras smuggled into government offices.
Awards
2012
*
Open City Docs Fest, London, U.K.
2011
* The Marek Nowicki Prize, the XI International Film Festival WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film, Warsaw, Poland
2010
* Golden Reel Award, 9th
Tiburon International Film Festival Tiburon (Spanish ''Tiburón'', "shark") may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Tiburon, California
* Tiburón Golf Club Naples, Florida
* Tiburon Peninsula (California), a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area of California
;Mexico
* Tiburón I ...
, California, U.S.A.
* Jury Award,
Festival International du Film des Droits de I’Homme à Paris, France
* Humanitarian Awards for Documentaries, 34th Hong Kong
International Film Festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
, Hong Kong
*
Documentary Edge Best Director, DOCNZ 2010, Auckland, New Zealand
2009
* 62nd
Cannes film festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, France
* Award for Best Feature Documentary, 7th
Doc Lisboa, City of Lisbon, Portugal
* Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for Best Documentary Film, 29th
Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.
HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...
, U.S.A.
* BIG STAMP Award in International Competition (Best Film),
ZagrebDox
ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival taking place in Zagreb every year, in late February / early March. Launched in 2005, the festival is intended to provide audiences and experts insight into recent documentary films, stimulate ...
, Czech
* Movies That Matter: Award Best Promotes Human Rights, The Hague, Holland
2008
* 61st
Locarno film festival
The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...
, Switzerland
References
''In China You Can't Fight City Hall'' The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
China's Cultural Evolution The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
Petition Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
Special Screenings Festival du Cannes
PBS "POV" Lists Essential Documentaries About China DGenerate films
dGenerate Films is a non-theatrical distributor of award-winning independent films from China. Their aim is to bring more images of contemporary life in mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governe ...
Zhao Liang’s ''Petition'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' Screening at Anthology Film Archives DGenerate films
Inside China’s Kafka-esque Bureaucratic Nightmare The L Magazine
''The L Magazine'' was a free bi-weekly magazine in New York City featuring investigative articles, arts and culture commentary, and event listings. It was available through distribution in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Hoboken.
History
''Th ...
2009 films
Chinese documentary films
2009 documentary films
Films directed by Zhao Liang
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