On a Tightrope
Synopsis
Multi-award winning documentary film offering rare insight into the prosecution of China’s Muslim minority.
On a Tightrope is a heartwarming and beautiful documentary film with a grave backdrop. The documentary follows four children at a government orphanage in Xinjiang, China. The four are learning the ancient Uyghur tradition of Dawaz, tightrope walking.
The children’s struggle to master the tightrope becomes a metaphor for their lives, as they walk the line between being true to their cultural and religious heritage and the communist party’s harsh demands for obedience.
China’s Xinjiang province is the site of one of the world’s worst human rights violations; Muslim Uyghurs are systematically oppressed. Under the excuse of suspected separatism at least 10,000 have been imprisoned and hundreds have been executed. The situation in Xinjiang is comparable to the situation in Tibet. But without a strong leader the Chinese are more brutal when dealing with the peaceful Uyghurs, knowing the world pays little attention.
On a Tightrope is the best documentary ever to depict the situation in the closed region of Xinjiang. The film was in competition at Sundance Film Festival. It received rave reviews and caused great debate when released in cinemas.
Credits
Director:
Petr Lom
Producer:
Torstein Grude
Editor:
Petr Lom
Original Music:
Reshide Dawut
Written by:
Petr Lom
DOP:
Petr Lom
Cast
Yasin
Sarigul
Abliz
Aijamal
Hoji Abdullah
Jumakhun
Production details
Original title
On a Tightrope
Year
2007
Length
71 min
Language
Uyghur, Mandarin
Subtitles
English, Spanish, French, German, Norwegian, Chinese
Format
DigiBeta, DVD
Production company
Piraya Film, Lom Films
Production country
Norway, Canada
Sales/Distribution
Word Sales: Kudos Family. Festival Distribution: The Norwegian Film Institute
Website
www.piraya.no
Awards & Festivals
Festivals:
2009 Jakarta Int. Film Festival, Indonesia
2009 Millennium Festival, Bruxelles, Belgium
2008 Golden Minbar, Kazan, Russia
2008 Russian Anthropoligical Film Festival
2008 Festival de Cinéma de Douarnenez, France
2008 Worldfilm, Tartu, Estonia
2008 Bilan du Film – Jean Rouch Film Festival, France
2008 Int’l Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights. Geneva, Switzerland
2008 Tempo Documentary Film Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
2008 Glasgow Film Festival, Scotland
2007 United Nations Association Film Festival, Stanford, USA
2007 Astra Filmfest, Romania
2007 Mostra São Paulo Int’l Film Festival Brazil
2007 Document 5- International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Scotland
2007 Perspektive – Nürnberger Filmfestival der Menschenrechte
2007 Taiwan Int’l Ethnographic Film Festival
2007 DOCNZ, New Zealand
2007 Flahertiana, Perm, Russia
2007 Dokufest Prizren, Kosovo
2007 Golden Apricot, Yerevan Int’l Film Festival, Armenia
2007 Pärnu International Film Festival, Estonia
2007 Maryland Int’l Film Festival, USA
2007 Norwegian Documentary Film Festival Volda
2007 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, USA
2007 Kontakt – Ukranian Documentary Film Festival – Norwegian special
2007 Philadelphia Film Festival, USA
2007 Chicago Documentary Film Festival, USA
2007 DocAviv, Tel Aviv Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Israel
2007 Cleveland Int’l Film Festival, USA
2007 EuroDok, European Documentary Film Festival, Oslo, Norway
2007 One World Human Rights Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
2007 ZagrebDox, Croatia
2007 Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden
2007 Sundance Film Festival, USA
2006 Watch Docs, Warszawa, Poland
2006 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Presskit
Images
On a tightrope
Poster
On a Tightrope Kids
Aijamal
Aijamal dressed for tightrope performance
Hoji Abdullah
Hoji Abdullah practicing
Jumakhun
Jumakhun on tightrope
Tightroping
Child practicing
Director Petr Lom
Tightrope
Jumkhun chanting
