Lost in the Mountain

This film is an exception within the Hidden Histories programme; it is the only fiction film in the programme – one with a hidden story that is told indirectly. Bie Lei has disappeared in a mountainous region and hasn’t been found, even after lengthy searches. Part of his family still lives on the mountain – a hollow mountain. Hollowed out by large-scale and intensive mining that has now stopped and left the villages in a desolate state.
Six months later, four friends of the missing Bie Lie decide to head up the mountain to look for him. Not that they think they will find him, but the journey and the ritual are important for them.
The journey through the deserted mining region shows a special side of China. A side in which people just disappear without trace, but also where whole areas are sacrificed to another vested interest.