Serfs

Serf to a ruthless landlord in Tibet, Qiangba endures humiliation and suffering in quiet desperation. The People’s Liberation Army arrives in the region on an emancipatory mission, but the old order will not yield easily. A work of overt propaganda, Serfs is a passionate, partisan account of the ‘liberation’ of Tibet.

The 1950s, Tibet. Belying the breathtaking landscape of the region is the harrowing reality of feudal exploitation. Young Qiangba, like generations before him, is serf to a local landlord who wields his tyrannical authority with the sanction of the Buddhist clergy. In prayer and resignation, Qiangba and his peers endure abuse for years, until news arrives of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), known to have been breaking chains of enslavement across the land.

Jun Li’s Serfs, which screened at the third Afro-Asian Film Festival in Jakarta in 1964, is a stirring, passionately partisan account of the communist emancipation of Tibet by the PLA. In Li’s messianic film, the army is a benevolent force who wouldn’t hurt an ant, and chairman Mao is no less than a Bodhisattva himself, tirelessly working for the upliftment of the oppressed.  

A work of overt propaganda, Serfs possesses a galvanising power thanks to its dynamic monochrome cinematography and the astonishing physicality of its actors. The emotionally resonant drama of the film conceals a dark history of military bloodshed in the region, and the film is presented at IFFR with a view to invite thought and discussion. For an alternative perspective of the same historical events, see Four Rivers Six Ranges, also in the programme.

– Srikanth Srinivasan

SERFS | SCREENING POSTPONEMENT – 8 Feb 21.30
Tonight’s screening of Serfs, within the Through Cinema We Will Rise! programme has been postponed.
Date and details for a future screening following the Festival are currently under review, and will be communicated via IFFR.com.
We apologise for the short notice – tickets will be refunded.