Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2002)

*The film will be divided into 4 parts with 3 intermissions; beverages will be for sale in the atrium. Please refer to the estimated schedule below for how this screening will be conducted. Please note that this screening will have premium pricing.

Director: Wang Bing

Runtime: 551 mins

Country: China

Language: Mandarin with English subtitles

Rating: R21

Awards

Grand Prix

Festival International de Cinéma de Marseille (FIDMarseille) 2003

Golden Montgolfiere

Nantes Three Continents Festival 2003

Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

Synopsis

The film documents daily life in Tie Xi District, one of China’s most important heavy-industrial complexes. Built by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1934, Tie Xi was nationalised in 1949 and expanded during the industrial projects initiated with Soviet assistance in the 1950s. However, as factories began to close in 1999, residents were forced to evacuate.

Wang Bing’s direct-cinema approach to documenting the mundane of blue-collar workers and the closure of the factories serves as a microcosm of China’s political, economic, and social history over decades. The workers’ experience is translated into the film’s prolonged long takes, allowing audiences to feel the repetitive boredom and monotony of factory life. West of the Tracks establishes a filmmaking language that would define Wang’s subsequent work: the camera’s presence gradually dissolves, while the long takes reshape the audience’s experience of time and space.

Estimated Screening Schedule

1045 am: Doors open

1100 am: Intro + trailer, Part 1 (A)

0115 pm: Intermission break (10mins)

0125 pm: Part 1 (B)

0330 pm: Lunch break (60 mins)

0430 pm: Part 2

0730 pm: Dinner break (30mins)

0800 pm: Part 3

1015 pm: Film Ends

Estimated runtime for each part:

Part 1 (A) – 2hrs

Part 1 (B) – 2hrs

Part 2 – 3hrs

Part 3 – 2hrs

This screening is part of the programme Past Time. For more screenings, please click here .

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T&Cs

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