Last Days in Shibati

Shibati, the last remaining old district in China's largest city, Chongqing, is about to be demolished. Some of its inhabitants — seven-year-old Zhou Hong, the little prince of the alleys, Mr Li, and the extraordinary Ms Xue Lian, godmother to migrant workers — are voices from a world on the brink of destruction. They must abandon their home to be forcibly resettled in a modern world they do not understand. 

We witness the gradual dismantling of this neighbourhood, as chronicled over time by director Hendrick Dusollier. In spite of the language barrier, Dusollier eventually befriends the locals, following them to what would soon be their new home—in one of thousands of anonymous tower blocks in a far-off suburb.

Rather than a snapshot of mass re-housing in China, Dusollier paints instead an intimate portrait of the locals, exposing the devastation caused by their displacement. Touching and funny, this documentary paints a masterful portrait of China's unbridled modernization.