Out of Competition
North American Premiere

THE MEN WHO WOULD CONQUER CHINA



Nick Torrens

Country of production: Australia
Year: 2004
Language: English, Chinese
Mins: 78

Production company: Nick Torrens Film Productions Pty Ltd.
Producer: Nick Torrens
Script: Nick Torrens
Cinematography: Nick Torrens
Editing: Jane St Vincent Welch
Sound: Nick Torrens, Mix Mechael Gissing
Music: David Bridie, Paul Anthon Smith

Source: Nick Torrens Film Productions Pty Ltd.
Nick Torrens
11 Kegworth Street
Leichhardt NSW 2040, Australia
Tel.: +61 2 9550-9550
Fax: +61 2 9550-9545
torrens@burko.com.au


Mart Bakal is a millionaire New York investment banker who has been spreading the benefits of globalization in the former Communist world since the early 1990s. Now he wants to raise the stakes, his profile and his fortune in the biggest market of all: China. But Bakal needs a “cultural interpreter” so he teams up with the charismatic Vincent Lee, a successful Hong Kong entrepreneur. But even with Vincent on-board and billions of dollars to invest, Mart finds China less than enthusiastic about his offers, his methods and his needs… In this candid and ironic saga of west-east capitalism, the relationship of Mart and Vincent becomes the fulcrum on which the film pivots. Although they share a common belief in capitalism, the tension between these partners grows as different priorities and cultural perspectives drive each man. Winner, Best Documentary, Film Critics Circle of Australia, 2004.


NICK TORRENS is an independent Australian filmmaker whose work over 25 years observes the intimate lives of ordinary and extraordinary people, and the forces which shape them. His view derives from a lifelong fascination with the politics of people's lives. The films look beyond the familiar to reveal the dramatic, unexpected worlds in which his characters dwell.
He is currently developing projects on the effects of global warming on the Pacific as well as the next chapter in his long-term China series.

SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY

The Men Who Would Conquer China (2004)
Vis å vis: Techno Tribal (2003)
To Get Rich Is Glorious : Deng Xiao Ping (1998)
The Queenslander: tales from the tropical north (1996)
The Ghan: a spiritual connection (1996)
Me depressed? Don't make me laugh! (1995)
Under Pressure (1994)
Amalgamation (1989)
The Australian AIDS Tape (1988)
Sailors: love them or leave them (1987)
Darling River Kids (1986)
Running From the Ghost (1985)
More Than a Game (1984)
All That Glitters... (1982/3)
Minh- a Vietnamese (1979)

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2005 AT 6.00 PM. / CHOPIN THEATRE
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2005 AT 5.00 PM. / GALLERY THEATRE