In Gansu Province, northwest China, lie the remains of countless prisoners abandoned in the Gobi Desert sixty years ago. Designated as “ultra-rightists” in the Communist Party’s Anti-Rightist campaign of 1957, they starved to death in the Jiabiangou and Mingshui reeducation camps. The film invites us to meet the survivors of the camps to find out firsthand who these persons were, the hardships they were forced to endure and what became their destiny.
Festivals & Awards
Cannes International Film Festival 2018 – Official Selection
Toronto International Film Festival 2018 – Wavelenghts
Busan International Film Festival 2018
IDFA 2018
Golden Horse Film Festival 2018
Sao Paulo International Film Festival 2018
Mar del Plata International Film Festival 2018
Montreal International Documentary Festival 2018
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2019 – Grand Prize & Citizens’ Prize
Göteborg International Film Festival 2019
Doclisboa International Film Festival 2018
Press
Masterful, heart-wrenching, harrowing and essential.
Screenplay
A immensely perceptive piece.
The Hollywood Reporter
A monumental achievement.
Sight & Sound
A powerfully sobering and clear-eyed investigation.
Variety
Original title: Les âmes mortes
Production: Les Films d'Ici - CS Productions - Adok Films
Nationality: France - Switzerland
Year of production: 2018
Running time: 496'
Language: Mandarin
Ratio: 1.85
