On the Rim of the Sky

On the Rim of the Sky

Gulu, a village on a cliff edge in Sichuan, was cut off from the outside world for decades. Since 1982, Shen has been teaching the children there. When media, donations and the young, idealistic volunteer Bao arrive after the 2008 earthquake, a dispute erupts between the two teachers over money, influence and the new school that splits the whole village. Observed over four years, the film tells – comically and bitterly at once – of the price of progress. German title: “Morgen wird es schöner sein”.

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Editing: Rainer Nigrelli, Xu Hongjie

Winner: Open City Documentary Festival London 2015 – Emerging International Filmmaker Award
Nomination: Golden Horse Awards 2015 – Best Documentary
Festivals: Locarno 2014 (world premiere, Semaine de la critique), Hot Docs, Sydney Film Festival, DOC NYC 2015 and others

„… editing also deserves mention for making the documentary a relentless surge toward high drama.“ – The Hollywood Reporter

„… the film’s superb editing (together with Rainer Nigrelli) … The pacing is fast like a thriller …“ – Screen Anarchy

Written and directed by: Xu Hongjie

Cinematography: Mincheol Wang, Xu Hongjie and others

Music: Frank Schreiber

Production: Xu Hongjie, funded by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW; world sales: New Docs