China Blue

"Made in China" is no longer a label for second–rate products. Big international companies with renowned brands are moving their production to China, which has opened up to foreign investors, enticing them with cheap labour. Millions of peasant families send their children to work far away from home and "find happiness". Filmmaker Micha X. Peled managed to get his camera into one of the factories where denim jeans are manufactured for the western market. The factory manager is part of the country's successful elite; he came from the farmlands and worked his way up to the top step by step. Sixteen–year–old Jasmine is at the bottom of the pile, hoping she can make enough money to go home for the New Year. While her employer paints calligraphy featuring factory slogans to give to rich clients from the west, Jasmine writes a journal by torchlight, escaping to the fictional world of a dream girl who learns magic from a kung fu master so that she can help her family and punish evil slave–traders. As if she realized that in the world of "maximum profit and minimum cost", she is of little importance. This engaging documentary received the DOEN Amnesty International Award at the IDFA Festival in Amsterdam.