AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary Film and Discussion Series at the Spurlock 2013–2014: Beijing Besieged By Waste

• Event Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013
• Time: 7:00 pm (CDT)
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free Admission

• Film

This series of public film screenings and lecture/discussion programs is organized by the Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS) at the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies. It is planned in collaboration with the Spurlock Museum and presented in the Knight Auditorium. Guest scholars and members of the campus and local communities will introduce the films and lead post-screening audience discussions.

Beijing Besieged By Waste
Directed by Wang Jiu-liang. 2011. 72 minutes.
In Mandarin with English subtitles.

Award-winning photographer Wang Jiu-liang traveled to more than 500 landfills to fearlessly document Beijing’s monumental problem of waste spawned by a burgeoning population, booming industry, and insatiable urban growth. In Beijing Besieged By Waste, Wang’s poignant observational visits reveal the decimation of once-essential rivers and farmlands in the backdrop of gleaming high-speed trains, stadiums, and skyscrapers; the sinister cyclical pattern of construction's consumption and garbage; and the daily lives of scavengers who live and work in the dumps at their own risk.

Distributed by Icarus Films (external link) as part of the dGenerate Films Collection (external link).