Dream Walking Chinese Artists Living in Poverty
This film follows four artists living on the margins of society whose passionate discussions belie their stark and impoverished living conditions. The subjects are performance artist Li Wake, painters Wang Yongping and Ding Defu, and poet Motou Beibei, who is hailed online as a genius despite working as a security guard.
Overcome by ennui, and lost in the uncertainties of their everyday lives and their artistic identities, the artists express certain hopelessness. Through grainy black-and-white footage, precision close-ups, and an editing method of joining incongruous footage that evinces an atmosphere of desperation, the sense of "nothing at all happened" finds visual expression in DREAM WALKING.
Winner at the Cinema du Reel Festival.
"DREAM WALKING takes a close look at the lives and actions of a marginal group and conveys the struggles of bottom-rung artists with great veracity and impact." - Ai Weiwei
Running Time
86 mins
Year
2005
Kanopy ID
6452334
Filmmakers
Languages
Subjects
Show More
Related videos
Fairytale - Contemporary Artist Ai Weiwei Invites Chinese Citizens to Attend His Art Exhibition in Germany
In 2007 Artist Ai Weiwei took part in Documenta 12 with a participatory event called Fairytale, named after the Brothers Grimm who were born near Kassel, the German city that hosts the famed art exhibition. Ai invited 1,001 people from China, many of whom had never been abroad before, to…
Nightingale, Not the Only Voice - Three Artists Embark on a Journey of Self-Discovery
This documentary follows the lives of three artists, including the film's director, on their shared journey through real and psychological oppression to self-discovery. Tang Danhong examines her past--particularly her relationship with her parents--and looks at the painful, formative moments that inform her current psychological state, her life, and her art.…
Mighty Ground - The Journey of a Songwriter Living on Skid Row
This documentary follows the journey of Ronald Troy Collins, a gifted songwriter living on the streets of Skid Row, and the impact he makes on those who come to love him. A living example of redemption and what it means to transform oneself from rock bottom.
MIGHTY GROUND was an…
Dreaming Against the World - A Portrait of Chinese Artist Mu Xin
A beautiful, evocative documentary, DREAMING AGAINST THE WORLD captures the life, work and struggle of one of the most original yet under-recognized artists of the 20th century - the writer and visual artist Mu Xin; and in doing so, offers a vivid account of art, and its survival, in turbulent…
What Matters? - Exploring Important Questions While Living in Poverty
An award-winning feature length documentary that reveals a powerful perspective on what really matters in life. It is an inspiring story about three young men (an Atheist and two Christians) who journey across three continents immersing themselves in poverty.
Their intent is to experience extreme poverty and explore the questions…
Two American Families
Since 1992, Bill Moyers and FRONTLINE have been following the story of two ordinary, hard-working families in Milwaukee - one black, one white - as they spent two decades in an extraordinary battle to keep from sliding into poverty. With poignant and revealing intimacy, Two American Families chronicles the struggles…
Standing on the Edge of a Thorn - A family in Rural Indonesia
An intimate portrait of a family in rural Indonesia grappling with poverty, mental illness, and participation in the sex trade. Shot over the course of 12 years, the film centers on Iman Rohani, a former civil servant struggling with a mental disorder, who takes in Tri, an unwed pregnant teenager…
May Justice Be Done - The Economic Crisis in Argentina
By any standard Argentina was a very rich country until the 1970s, with competitive industries, modern agriculture, and a prosperous middle class. By 2001, 21 out of 36 million people were living below the poverty level, and formerly eradicated diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy reemerged. MAY JUSTICE BE DONE…
Living on One Dollar - Fighting Poverty Through Empowerment and Understanding
This award-winning documentary is a tool to help empower the extreme poor to take the first steps out of poverty.
The film follows the story of four young friends who set out to live on just one dollar a day for eight weeks in rural Guatemala. They battle hunger, parasites…
Storm Children - The Devastation of Typhoon Yolanda
With striking black & white photography, this critically-acclaimed observational documentary from Philippine master filmmaker Lav Diaz takes stock of the devastation wrought by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on the Philippine coastal town of Tacloban.
The film, which follows three children as they cope with the disaster--scavenging for food, telling stories, playing…
A Space Program - Artist Tom Sachs' Homemade Space Station
Internationally acclaimed artist Tom Sachs takes us on an intricately handmade journey to the red planet, providing audiences with an intimate, first person look into his studio and methods.
A SPACE PROGRAM is both a piece of art in its own right and a recording of Sachs' historic piece, Space…
Down the Project: The Crisis of Public Housing
Sixty years ago, the "projects" were considered to be the most desirable housing stock for low-to-low-middle-income Americans. Today, this same housing has become stigmatized, beset by financial and social problems, and may be phased out. This film, made in the 1980s, remains the classic portrait of a government program besieged…