China's Wild West is a 2009

2009 in film

The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...

 British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 directed by Urszula Pontikos.

The film received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

, its European premiere at the 2009 One World Film Festival

One World Film Festival

One World is the biggest human rights film festival in the world, held annually in Prague and other cities of the Czech Republic. Established in 1999 by the Czech NGO People in Need, the presents over 100 documentary films during nine days in Spring from around the world...

. It won Prix du Jeune Public at the 2009 Anûû-rû âboro International Film Festival in New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

. The film has subsequently screened at many human rights, documentary and enthnographic international film festivals including Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight...

, True/False Film Festival

True/False Film Festival

The True/False Film Festival is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The festival usually happens on a weekend toward the end of February or the beginning of March, with films being shown from Thursday night to Sunday night...

 and Silverdocs

Silverdocs

AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival is an American international film festival created by the American Film Institute and Discovery Channel. It is held every year in Silver Spring, Maryland near Washington, D.C.. Started in 2003, the festival is held for eight days in June at...

.

Plot

Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

, in China’s remote western region, is home to a booming market in Jade

Jade

Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...

, the semi-precious stone much prized by the Chinese. Local Muslim minority the Uyghur people

Uyghur people

The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...

 turn from farming to digging the barren dried-up local Yurungkash River during the winter months to supplement their income... An observational, meditative documentary.

Reception

“A moving comment on human aspiration and a devastating portrait of futility” Washington City Paper

“Hypnotic... stunning” IonCinema.com/SilverDocs

“Visually compelling” One World International Human Rights Film Festival

“Austerely beautiful” True/False International Film Festival

“Mesmerizing” Full Frame International Film Festival

“Masterful photography” Cinemambiente Film Festival

External links

• China's Wild West at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• http://www.chinaswildwest.com Official Website
• http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37319 Review
• http://festival.sundance.org/2009/film_events/films/chinas_wild_west Sundance Film Festival