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

FESTIVALS
2016: Sundance, International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

AWARDS
Best Social Impact Film, Documentary Feature (Greenwich International Film Festival)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Blu-Ray, DVD