Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Twin sisters Wei and Yan and their younger brother Won are left on their own when their father is imprisoned for manslaughter. Like other children from poor families in China whose parents have ended up in prison or executed, the Zhang siblings face a bleak future. The children of the incarcerated are frequently abandoned by their extended families, judged by society for the deeds of their parents, and receive no social safety net from the Chinese government. The situation is particularly grave for those who don’t have state-issued identification, which prevents them from entering school and eventually finding work. For some of these children, the only hope for safety and stability is Sun Village, a privately and NGO-funded programme that houses and cares for children of Chinese convicts. This affecting short documentary joins the Zhangs at the moment when their father, who is facing a possible death sentence, makes the wrenching decision to have them taken to Sun Village. Uncertain of their father’s fate and their own future, the Zhangs attempt to find solid footing in a society that hardly acknowledges their existence.
Director: Kaspar Astrup Schröder
Producer: Katrine A Sahlstrøm
video
Life stages
At 14, Asal is excited about her engagement. Her relatives all have their own opinions
33 minutes
video
The future
What’s the healthiest way to handle a creeping feeling that the world is ending?
15 minutes
video
Archaeology
From Roman pots to glass eyes, the shore of the river Thames teems with surprises
8 minutes
video
Psychiatry and psychotherapy
Pondering the peculiar one-sided intimacy of the client-therapist relationship
3 minutes
video
History of science
Bat-people on the Moon – what a famed 1835 hoax reveals about misinformation today
8 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
Thirty years after one teenager shot another, is it time to forgive?
28 minutes
video
Family life
Fifty years ago, a train collided with Jack and Betty’s car. Here’s how they remember it
9 minutes
video
Medicine
What is it like to be a paramedic, navigating human emergency?
17 minutes
video
Art
At 95, an artist paints swiftly to capture the fugitive light
6 minutes