THE LAND OF MANY PALACES

In Ordos, China, thousands of farmers are being relocated into a new city under a government plan to modernize the region. “The Land of Many Palaces” follows a government official whose job is to convince these farmers that their lives will be better off in the city, and a farmer in one of the last remaining villages in the region who is pressurized to move. The film explores a process that will take shape on an enormous scale across China, since the central government announced plans to relocate 250,000,000 farmers to cities across the nation, over the next 20 years.

SONG TING

 

As a director and cinematographer, Ting’s short films have screened in many international film festivals. She was selected for the Asian Film Academy of the Busan International Film Festival in 2011 and the Golden Horse Academy at Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival in 2011. Ting produced the feature film “Her Love Story” in 2011, directed by Gu Qiao. She gained her MFA degree in Film Production from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and holds dual BAs in English Literature and Finance from the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing. She has worked on films in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Indonesia.

 

 

ADAM JAMES SMITH

 

Adam is a Stanford-educated documentary filmmaker from England. His films focus on characters experiencing rapid change in their lives. To date, he has produced, directed and edited four short documentaries in America; The Diner, Love & Allegiance (co-dir Tijana Petrovic), Shangri-La, Role Play, and one feature documentary in China: The Land of Many Palaces (co-dir Song Ting). In addition to making his own films, he has worked for TED, the Journal Sentinel, Rabbit Bandini Productions, Stanford’s Office of Public Affairs, the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Chinese National Academy of Painting.

 

• Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2015 
• Miami International Film Festival Miami 2015 
• Beijing International Film Festival 2015 
• Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival 2015 
• Rome Independent Film Festival 2015 
• Documentary Edge Film Festival 2015 

 

Main Competition 2016