Day by day

Rainmakers

Holland // 2010 // Couleur // 73'
ov chinese, st eng/fr

In 21st-century China, in an era of big is beautiful and productivism, the air is unbreathable, the lakes and rivers are horribly polluted and desertification is spreading fast, making a significant impact on the ecosystem. As helpless spectators of the deterioration of their environment, Chinese peasants have decided on resistance in order to protect the natural resources on which they depend, and are raising their voices with courage. Skillfully setting people in their natural surroundings, Florian Van Luys’ film paints the portrait of these peasants’ lives. With its strikingly beautiful landscapes and high quality photography, this creative documentary reveals what lies behind the Chinese prime minister’s and his one-party’s fine speeches. We discover the no man’s land produced by unbridled capitalism. The world’s biggest country hurtles faster and faster along the road to development, to the detriment of its – and soon our own – environment.

Floris-Jan van Luyn