Youth (Spring)
dir. Wang Bing · 2023
The experience of being alive is shaped by the struggles and aspirations of those who work tirelessly to create a better future, often in the shadows of society.
In the bustling workshops of Zhili, children’s clothes are produced by a sea of migrant workers, each with their own story of sacrifice and aspiration. Watching this film is like stepping into a world where the hum of sewing machines drowns out the laughter of youth, revealing the stark contrast between childhood dreams and the harsh realities of economic survival.
This film was shot between 2014 and 2019 in the town of Zhili, a district of Huzhou City in Zhejiang province, China. Zhili is home to over 18,000 privately-run workshops producing children's clothes, mostly for the domestic market, but some also for export. The workshops employ around 300,000 migrant workers, chiefly from the rural provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan and Jiangsu.
Talking points
- the impact of globalization on local economies
- the human cost of consumerism
- childhood in labor-intensive environments
- the role of documentary in social change
