Partita

This film is a poetic documentary essay set in a remote region in northwest China. The area is essentially the only corner in the country where shadow theater still survives as a part of the rural community life. The film follows a group of folk artists as they struggle between the glorified stage of 'National Heritage Preservation' and the dwindling stage of local performance. It celebrates the internal vitality of the grassroots culture while bringing to light some intrinsic dilemmas that have emerged when tradition is objectified and elevated in the name of cultural preservation.