Moving portrait of Chinese singer Ga Song. A charming loner who wanders from city to city with his acoustic guitar and three-stringed sanxian, alternating with mountain hikes. The camera follows his every move both at the atmospherically shot gigs and while he travels, eats and sleeps, making this nomadic life tangible. His idiosyncratic folk variant attracts a small audience, and a half-hearted shot at fame by participating in China’s Got Talent gets him nowhere.
Gradually it becomes apparent why Ga leads such a wandering, disassociated life: the village he grew up in became uninhabitable due to drought, only ruins lie there now; the place he pines for no longer exists. By singing old folk songs, Ga resists modern China’s breakneck progress that even sacrificed some of his beloved mountains.
Part of Scopitone Cafe, an eclectic mix of documentaries about music and how it is
experienced. Stick around for fun, music and a Q&A. The bar is open! Free admission.
Film details
- Country of production
- China
- Year
- 2018
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2018
- Length
- 111'
- Medium/Format
- File
