Hooligan Sparrow

2016 | China / USA | 84 min

ABOUT THE FILM

LONG SYNOPSIS

The danger is palpable as intrepid young filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows maverick activist Ye Haiyan (a.k.a Hooligan Sparrow) and her band of colleagues to Hainan Province in southern China, to protest the case of six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. Marked as enemies of the state, the activists are under constant government surveillance and face interrogation, harassment, and imprisonment. Sparrow, who gained notoriety with her advocacy work for sex workers’ rights, continues to champion girls’ and women’s rights and arms herself with the power and reach of social media.

Filmmaker Wang becomes a target along with Sparrow, as she faces destroyed cameras and intimidation. Yet she bravely and tenaciously keeps shooting, guerrilla-style, with secret recording devices and hidden-camera glasses, and in the process, she exposes a startling number of undercover security agents on the streets. Eventually, through smuggling footage out of the country, Wang is able tell the story of her journey with the extraordinary revolutionary Sparrow, her fellow activists, and their seemingly impossible battle for human rights.

Writer & Director Nanfu Wang
Co-Writer Mark Monroe
Producer Nanfu Wang
creative producer Peter Lucas
Executive Producers Andy Cohen, Alison Klayman
Co-Producer Michael Shade
Editor Nanfu Wang
Cinematographer Nanfu Wang
Music Nathan Halpern, Chris Ruggiero
Cast Haiyan Ye, Yu Wang