The brand new short documentary 'Xiong Di (兄弟)' or 'Fellas' by Enric Ribes & Oriol Martínez (aka Häns) just premiered in Doc X by Dazed. The two Spanish film-makers and producers were also in charge of the concept and directed this amazing short film.
Ribes & Martínez closely follow the everyday lives of the four 'fellas' or 'brothers' (xiongdi) Qu Maomao, Wu Zhihua, Zhang Qi and Zhang Beike who have been working and living in an industrial complex owned by Antex (Deqing) Fashion Co., Ltd., a manufacturing giant located in Zhejiang province, for several years.
As prototypical young migrant workers from rural China they live a life confined by rigid factory rules and boring work routines - their only way out of the monotony of factory life is by practicing kickboxing in their spare time.
To be able to face an uncertain future in the city, they rely heavily on their immediate social network, the close friendship with each other and the hope to find a nice (and suitable in the eyes of often traditionally-minded parents) girlfriend.
Professionally edited, with captivating music and some really funny scenes (one of the guys musing about the incredibly large bras he helps to produce on a daily basis for world markets, for instance), 'Xiong Di' is a prime example of state-of-the-art, deeply touching but unsentimental documentary film-making.
(For the Vimeo review, see here; for a recent interview with the Barcelona-based directors, see here).
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