Yan mo

Fen-jie on the Yang-Tze River looks back on a 2,300 year old history that will soon be lost to the floods. Fen-jie is one of hundreds of towns that are silent victims of the largest dam construction project in the world: the Three Gorges Dam in China. Before its completion in 2009, millions of local residents are expected to be relocated, as their towns and land will be under water. Many of these places which are about to disappear are natural monuments and historical sites, like Fen-jie, the town of poetry, home to China’s most famous poet Li Bai. From now on, we are enemies of all poetry! the two filmmakers claimed after they had finished this sober portrayal of the step by step destruction of an entire town. At first, poverty and unemployment flourish then social justice and civil rights disappear. It’s the law of the strongest. When the houses are demolished, people who cannot afford a new home, the old, the deceased and the poor, remain amidst the ruins with no water and electricity. The tears of a war veteran, priests loosing their faith… Before the flood, there is no more human dignity. (DOK.fest München)