Documentary about foreigners living in China seen as example of how media can bridge distant lands

Film and television can transcend geographical distance and connect the hearts and minds of the Chinese and African people, though they are separated by thousands of kilometers, says an official of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship.

The six-episode documentary film Africans in Yiwu is one example and will surely play an active role in promoting the understanding between Chinese and Africans, said Lin Yi, vice-president of the association, at a ceremony on Dec 28 to introduce the film in Beijing.

Chinese and African representatives take part in the broadcasting ceremony of the documentary film Africans in Yiwu in Beijing on Dec 28. Provided to China Daily

The film, produced by the Center for African Film and TV Research of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, tells the stories of the lives and work of African people in Yiwu and its surrounding suburbs, against the backdrop of the rapid development of China-Africa relations. The documentary looks at different aspects of their lives, including business activities, societal structures, marriage, education, food and artistic activities.

Hodan Abdi of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, also the Somali co-director of the film, said the production process incorporated Chinese and African talent alike. It took more than two years to record the normal lives of more than 20 people from 13 African countries.

"I wanted to show the diversification of people's lives in the film," she said at the ceremony.

"From the perspective of communication studies, the African image in the current mainstream film and TV media is deeply undermined by stereotypes such as poverty, violence and wars," she added. "My goal is to take advantage of the decadelong studies and cross-cultural experience in China to correct this stereotype and promote mutual understanding between the people of China and Africa."

According to Zhang Yong, chief director of the documentary, they have chosen to record those stories that represent the lives of those at the grassroots of China and Africa.

Africans' understanding of China is mainly influenced by Bruce Lee's kung fu movies, while most Chinese people's understanding of Africa comes from Hollywood movies, Zhang said. The reality is, whether from Africa or China, all people have their ups and downs and experience joys and sorrows, Zhang added.

Yiwu is an export-oriented city in East China's Zhejiang province. Yiwu Party chief Sheng Qiuping said in 2015, when he was the city's mayor, that about 15,000 foreign residents from more than 100 countries and regions had come to the city with a dream of making a better life. In addition, more than 500,000 overseas businesspeople visit Yiwu each year.

Somali Ambassador to China Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim said the stories of African and Chinese people should be told and written by themselves, not by others. The documentary tells people how Africans work and live in China, and how they communicate and understand each other.

Diallo Yoro, a Malian senior research fellow at the institute of African Studies, who previously held the position of first counselor at Mali's embassy in China, said, "Africans in Yiwu advocates the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative: peace, tolerance, mutual inspiration and esteem, respect for cultural diversity, integration, exchange and sharing."

He said he believes that overall, China-Africa cooperation is very positive, even though there are challenges. However, so long as relations are based on cooperation, the challenges and difficulties are insignificant, he added.

Beginning on Jan 6, the documentary will be broadcast for the first time on CCTV-4 on a weekly basis, and will be shown at the same time on the online video platform iQiyi. The film is also to be broadcast in 30 African countries through the StarTimes movie channel during the first week of January.

The film was shown at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania in July and was selected as the opening film for the Lusaka International Film Festival in Zambia.

Africans in Yiwu was named Best Online Documentary Film of the Year at the 2017 China Online Film and Television Awards.