MERRY CHRISTMAS, YIWU
a film by Mladen Kovačević
2020 | 94’ & 53’
LOGLINE
An intimate film about everyday lives of Chinese workers stuck in between Chinese communist tradition and newly discovered Chinese dream that takes places in Yiwu, a city with 600 Christmas factories, which produce Christmas for the entire world.
SYNOPSIS
Communist ideals have long lost their value in Yiwu, a city with 600 Christmas factories, in which Christmas as we know it is produced for the entire world. With rising wages, the workers in Christmas factories can now afford newest iPhones, but they still live in crowded dormitories. All migrants in their own country, nostalgic for some place far away, some miss their families left in hometowns, other miss their friends and lovers from the factories when they go home for holidays. Young generation is already tired of long factory hours, chemical fumes and glitter particles, and they do not care for their parents' wishes to get educated. Stuck in between Chinese tradition and the newly discovered Chinese dream, they want their own businesses, to be rich, to be independent, to be in love.
FESTIVALS
Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Netherlands
Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden
Tempo Documentary Festival, Sweden
Hot Docs, Toronto, Canada
Biografilm Festival, Italy
Sarajevo Film Festival – Won Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Documentary Film, Bosnia and Herzegovina
MakeDox, North Macedonia
Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Poland
Unabhängiges FilmFest Osnabrück, Germany
Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic – Silver Eye Award Nomination
Minsk International Film Festival Listapad, Belorussia
Doclisboa, Portugal
Escales Documentaires, La Rochelle, France
L'Alternativa - Festival de Cinema Independent de Barcelona, Spain
RIDM Montreal, Canada
Flahertiana International Documentary Film Festival - Special Mention of the Jury and FIPRESCI Award, Russia,
FIPADOC Biarritz, France
Cinema Parallels, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
CHAI. Chinese Film Festival Leipzig, Germany
Freiburger Filmforum, Germany
Kino Otok, Izola, Slovenia
DokuArt, Bjelovar, Croatia
UndrehillFest International Film Festival, Montenegro
Magnificent 7 – European Feature Documentary Film Festival, Serbia
CINEMA & TV DISTRIBUTION
Cinema Distribution: Serbia, Croatia (December 2021)
TV broadcasts: NDR/ARTE, RTBF, Current Time TV, RTS Swiss, RSI, YLE
CREDITS
Writer and Director MLADEN KOVAČEVIĆ
Editor JELENA MAKSIMOVIĆ
Director of Photography MARKO MILOVANOVIĆ
Composer OLOF DREIJER
Producers IVA PLEMIĆ DIVJAK, MARIO ADAMSON, RUTH REID
Co-producers JASMINA SIJERČIĆ, HEINO DECKERT, THIERRY DETAILLE
Produced by
Horopter Film Production (Serbia)
in co-delegation with
Sisyfos Film Production (Sweden)
In co-production with:
Ma.ja.de, Germany
NDR / ARTE
Bocalupo Films, France
RTBF
Visible Film, Belgium
With the support of
Swedish Film Institute
Film Center Serbia
Republic of Serbia - Ministry of Culture and Media
Région Ile-de-France
Doha Film Institute
Visions Sud Est
Broadcasting Partners
Current Time TV
RTS Radio Télévision Suisse
RSI - Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana
YLE – The Finnish Broadcasting Company
Developed through:
EURODOC
Beldocs in Progress
Docu Talents – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Doc Preview Training – DOK Leipzig
WEMW – Trieste Film Festival
Visions du Réel Focus Talk - Visions Sud Est Award winner
CONTACT
Horopter Film Production | Serbia
Phone +381 (0)63 8302 301
Email iva.plemic@horopter.rs
www.horopter.rs
Sisyfos Film Production | Sweden
Phone +46 (0) 70 6202443
Email mario@sisyfosfilm.com
www.sisyfosfilm.com
www.facebook.com/pg/MerryChristmasYiwu
Merry Christmas, Yiwu OFFICIAL TRAILER
© HOROPTER FILM PRODUCTION, SISYFOS FILM PRODUCTION,
NDR/ARTE, MA.JA.DE, BOCALUPO FILMS, RTBF VISIBLE FILM
2020