Renowned Chinese independent director Wang Bing recently made his way to New York City to share insights about his latest work, the “Youth Trilogy.” This documentary series, released in 2023, has been nominated at several international film festivals and consists of three films with a total runtime of ten hours. It chronicles the lives and struggles of young laborers in a textile industrial town in Zhejiang, China, vividly portraying the grassroots creators behind China’s status as the “world’s factory” without resorting to grand narratives.
The “Youth Trilogy,” filmed between 2014 and 2019, primarily takes place in Zhili Town, Huzhou, Zhejiang province. Wang explained that Zhili is home to over 10,000 small and medium-sized garment workshops, accommodating around 300,000 migrant workers from rural areas in Yunnan, Guizhou, Anhui, and Henan. Unlike the larger factories found in the Yangtze River Delta or the Pearl River Delta, smaller enterprises are more welcoming to film crews, facilitating a more intimate storytelling process. Following its release, the first film, “Spring,” was selected for the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, while the second, “苦” (Bitter), was featured in the international competition at the Locarno Film Festival, winning multiple awards. The trilogy’s final segment, “归” (Return), made its way into the official competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Wang, who hails from Shaanxi, became known for producing documentary features on low budgets. His breakout film, “Tiexi District,” released in 2003, spans an impressive 551 minutes and captures the decline of an industrial base in Shenyang, China, along with the lives of its workers, receiving critical acclaim. He has since created award-winning documentaries focused on the Cultural Revolution and the political movements of the Chinese Communist Party. His newest work, the “Youth Trilogy,” premiered at the acclaimed art house cinema Metrograph in Manhattan, with “Spring” screened on October 12, followed by back-to-back showings of “Bitter” and “Return” on October 20.
During a post-screening discussion on the 20th, Wang shared his artistic philosophy, which emphasizes showcasing natural and authentic states, seeking to diminish the dominant narrative of art itself. He believes in allowing the subjects within the frame to become the narrators of their own stories without direct intervention.
Audience members expressed that Wang’s cinematic language allowed them to feel a genuine connection with the workers in Chinese garment workshops. He remarked that the films accurately reflect the lives of rural residents, portraying them as ordinary individuals caught in the rhythms of repetitive existence. Coming from a rural background himself, Wang aspires to create a film that faithfully represents these unscripted, often rough yet authentic realities.
