SHORT
GRAND PRIX COMPETITION
CHINA
A NEW OLD EMPIRE FROM IN AND OUT
ON
A TIGHTROPE
Norway/Canada,
2006, 58 min., Uighur
Director:
Petr Lom
Producer: Torstein Grude
Script: Petr Lom
Cinematography: Petr Lom
Editing: Petr Lom
Sound: Petr Lom
Production company: Torstein
Grude for Piraya Film
Print Source:
Films Transit International Inc.
252 Gouin Boulevard East
Montreal, Quebec H3L 1A8
Canada
Tel.: 1 514 844 3358
Fax: 1 514 844 7298
e-mail: janrofekamp@filmstransit.com
www.filmstransit.com
On A Tightrope
There
are roughly 8 million Uighurs living in the province of Xinjiang
in northwest China. Descendents of a 1000 year old culture,
they are a Muslim minority in a country that prohibits religious
expression. In this warm and layered documentary - the first
film ever to document religious policy in the province - director
Petr Lom follows a group of Uighur orphans as they struggle
to learn the ancient tradition of tightrope walking. The children
are ultimately torn between two coaches with varying approaches
to training – one tough and stern and the other sympathetic
and accepting – as well as between their heritage and
their homeland. In between training sessions and homework,
each pint-sized protagonist – from the naturally talented
and accomplished acrobat Aijamal to the less skilled, but
driven Jumakhun – candidly offers insights on family,
identity and their future in the sport. But as Lom subtly
suggests, learning to walk on a wire high above the ground
is nothing compared to the daily balancing act that the Uighurs
must perform in the face of constant adversity.
 Petr
Lom was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1968. He
grew up in Canada and received his Ph.D. in political philosophy
from Harvard University in 1997. In 2004 he gave up his career
in political philosophy to pursue a full-time career as a
documentary filmmaker.
Filmography:
On
A Tightrope (2006);
Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan (2004).
SATURDAY,
MARCH 31 AT 3:00 PM./FACET CINEMATHEQUE 
SCREENING
WITH CHILDREN OF DARFUR
MONDAY,
APRIL 2 AT 3:00 PM./CHOPIN THEATRE
SCREENING WITH CHILDREN
OF DARFUR
TUESDAY,
APRIL 3 AT 5:00 PM./CHOPIN THEATRE
SCREENING
WITH CHILDREN OF DARFUR
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