Shawa village is located in the Pihe Nuzu township, Fugong county in Yunnan's Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture, deep in the mountains near the Grand Canyon of the Nujiang river. The prefecture is in one of the severely impoverished regions in China, classified in the country's poverty alleviation strategies as the “Three Areas and Three Prefectures”. Any contact outside the village is extremely inconvenient, with only one small mountain road passing through the village and the villagers have to bear heavy loads on their shoulders as the only form of transportation. For many generations, they have suffered extreme poverty. “We want a road” is the shared aspiration of the locals as represented by Deng A-yan.
This documentary focuses on the stories of the Shawa villagers, presenting the ancient village's experience over 4 years in achieving poverty alleviation. More than a 1000 days and nights with “one step spanning a millenium”, this is an enriching portrait of China's poverty reduction campaign.
(Source: Translated from Douban)
Chai Hongfang is a director from China Central Television. Rooting premiered on April 24, 2021 winning awards at film festivals including the 11th Beijing International Film Festival and the 19th Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival. It will be released in cinemas nationwide in China on April 20, 2023.
