Film explores city's past
It is a documentary that raises deep questions about the rapid development Beijing continues to witness: What are the human costs? Has the historical memory of the city been irrevocably erased? Is the capital an experimental laboratory for Western architects? And what are the consequences?
New Beijing-Reinventing a City offers no concrete answers to such questions. Instead the film raises awareness that these questions exist, and they are pressing, and that someone needs to be trying to solve them.
"The film is seeking to leave people with some questions and some unease about the scale of development and who is in charge," said Georgia Wallace-Crabbe, director of the 52-minute documentary. "Beijing is becoming a huge megalopolis and is losing its character. It was once a city that was very distinctive."
