Film Introduction
The Tengger Desert in Northwest China is considered a major cause of sandstorms in northern cities in China. China has developed its own labor-intensive method - laying and pressing straw - to combat desertification. After decades of relentless efforts, the number of sandstorm days in the northern regions has significantly decreased. This short film documents the days of Nian, a 62-year-old, and Zhu, a 57-year-old, as they plant trees in the desert. They wake up early and work until late, with Zhu remarking, "They (the government) do this for the nature, but we do this only for a few pennies." Working for over 8 hours each day under the scorching sun, people engage in idle chatter, discussing one thing after another, like straw floating in the boundless desert. Occasionally, they could hear birds flying by……
Film Creator
Zhou Hao is a documentary filmmaker who has worked as a journalist for more than a decade, producing documentaries since 2001. Zhou’s works have won awards and been screened at film festivals around the world more than a hundred times. His 2014 film Cotton won Best Documentary at the 51st Golden Horse Film Festival. Zhou’s 2015 film, The Chinese Mayor, won the Special Jury Award for Unparalleled Access at the 31st Sundance Film Festival, as well as Best Documentary at the 9th Asian Film Awards, and won Zhou the Best Documentary award for the second time in a row at the 52nd Golden Horse Film Festival.
He Shan is a documentary producer who began producing documentaries in 2006. She worked as a line producer on the CCTV docuseries 'Huangdi' before founding Beijing Jilulin Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. Her production company has produced and presented several documentary feature films, including 'All In' (nominated for Best Documentary at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival and the 15th FIRST International Film Festival ), 'Wuhan Factory,' 'Girlhood,' and 'Positions.' Shan has also produced a documentary short film titled 'Before Sandstorm,' a documentary about the Xiaomi corporation called 'Yituanhuo,' and a Tencent docuseries titled 'I am what I am.'
