This film centers on 47 minutes of salvaged film footage that was hidden for decades and offers rare documentation of art and protest in China. The Beijing Spring began after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976 and a decade after the start of China’s Cultural Revolution, in which the repression and cruelty perpetrated by the authorities and Red Guards included the persecution of those who discovered art and culture. This “Spring” lasted less than three years and the “Wall of Democracy” at the heart of this film survived only about a year.

The stars of the film are members of a group of artists — the “Stars” — who dared to create independent art, publish a critical journal, and even criticize the government. A young director, Chi Xiaoning, documented the group’s actions, and when the “Spring” ended, he managed to hide the footage. Only 35 years later, and after the filmmaker died, did director Andy Cohen discover the never-before-seen material and include it in this film

Winner-MONTREAL ARTFIFA FILM FESTIVAL –  2021 Jury Award!

official selection -FIFDH – Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights