China

Oroqen means “people of the mountain.” China’s 6,000 Oroqen inhabit the Oroqen Autonomous Banner in the Greater and Lesser Hinggan Mountains of Inner Mongolia. Some live in Heilongjiang Province. Historically, the Oroqen were a nomadic people. The Oroqen love to dance and sing and have a repertoire of folk songs praising nature, love, hunting and the struggles of life. They practice shamanism and worship certain animals, particularly the bear and tiger. All things on earth have their own spirits, they believe, and a relationship between the Oroqens and animals exists. This has given rise to totemism. This documentary film records the particular customs of the Oroqen customs and their nomadiac hunting lives through a four-season migration.

For years, urban people have seen the mountain country as a pure wonderland. When they get bored with the city, they visit the mountains and enjoy the hospitality of the ethnic minorities there. The director and cameraman go to the mountains with the typical expectations of urban people — that the local ethnic minority people are supposed to prepare meals for them, and that local labor should be cheap.

Behind “Foggy Valley” lie the stories of Chinese country villages which are undergoing transformation.

In the Daliang Mountain region of Sichuan China, lives the ancient tribal Yi minority. Their priests are called Bimo.For hundreds even thousands of years, the Bimo have relied on memorized scriptures to communicate their people’s desires with the ghosts and spirits of the world.This film follows the story of three very different Bimos.

The Spell Casting Bimo comes from a clan famous for the power of their curses.He specializes in black magic rituals. One curse is enough to hurt, even kill a person. But with the Chinese government’s prohibition of these ceremonies he has fallen from a position of feared power to sad unemployment. The Soul Calling Bimo is the respected master of white magic. He cures the sick and calls to souls for help and good fortune. But his past hides sadness and pain. The Village Cadre Bimo: he is empowered by the Communist government with religious Bimo and political cadre status. He holds power in the world of people and spirits. However, when he abuses this power during the village mayor elections, he is dismissed by the government. Times change. But the ancient tribal stories of the Bimo continue on…

The film director lived in the mountain village of Fotuoyan for more than a year to record the living condition, traditional customs, religious beliefs, as well as the impact of Socialist rural development of the peasants on the Loess Plateau in Northern Shaanxi. The film narrative develops in accordance with the four divinations: summer, autumn, population, and national affairs. The challenges facing the village are similar to that of other rural areas: Young people emigrate their homeland, and only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled stay in the village. God seems to be the only source of comfort for these suffering souls at the edge of modern civilization.

For thousands of years, the Kucong tribe have lived in the primary rainforests of the Ailao Mountain and led primitive hunter-gatherer lifestyles. However, things changed in 1949 with the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China. A series of programmes were initiated to get the Kucong tribe to leave the forests and mountains, however, such initiatives did not go down well with the Kucong tribe. During the 50 years between 1958 and 2008, the Kucong tribe has been relocated from the forests five times; all five times, they escaped back to their homes in the forests. In 2008, the government decided to resettle the Kucong tribe for the sixth time—will they leave the forests this time?