On a Tightrope

Eight million Uighurs live in the Chinese province of Xinjiang on the country's north-western border. But what is life like for the largest Muslim minority in a country where any attempt at asserting a unique identity is suppressed? In his documentary, Canadian director Peter Lom focuses on orphans living in the city of Yengisar whose upbringing is entirely dependent on civil servants totally loyal to the state regime. The local orphanage lies right beside a mosque, where the singing of muezzins can be heard every day. The Uighur children, however, are forbidden to take up any religion until they are 18. By alternating Muslim melodies with the Chinese drums that beat time during school exercises, the director evokes the competing pressures of the different belief systems. Rope dancing is another national tradition that has managed to at least partially survive. The children learn this and expect a happier future from it. The lightness they experience while "walking in the clouds" contrasts sharply with the stale socialist atmosphere of the schoolyard. The camera uses ropewalking to make creative and emotive metaphors about wavering resistance to Chinese oppression.