Born in Beijing

For years, Ma Li has made documentaries for television. After a film about Tibetan celestial burials, Mirror of Emptiness, she has now made an equally gripping work that has been shot in crystal clear black-and-white.
Born in Beijing tells the story of ‘petitioners’: citizens who feel themselves wrongfully treated by the local authorities and seek settlement in the capital. There are thought to be more than 100,000 petitioners in Beijing. These people, harassed by ‘interceptors’ (see the film Interceptor From My Hometown), brave terrible conditions in their battle against injustice and corruption.
For six years, Ma Li followed the efforts and suffering of a group of homeless petitioners in the south of Beijing. The original title, Jing sheng (‘born in Beijing’), refers to a woman in the film who was born in Beijing more than 30 years ago; her mother came there looking for justice.