Laborfest: Film from China: Last Train Home

Last Train Home, 2010 (87 min.) China
FilmWorks United International Working Class Film & Video Festival
Directed by Lixin Fan (China)

When this documentary was made 8 years ago, the number of the migrant workers from rural area of China to big cities were 130 million, however, it is now 260 million in China. These are the workers who have built the largest industrial power in the world. This film shows the lives of these migrant workers and the mass migration back to their homes and families during the holidays. This mass exodus is the world’s largest human migration – an epic spectacle that reveals a country tragically caught between its rural past and industrial future. They have been separated from their families during the year and many live in dire conditions with no political and education rights in the cities. While China is developing industry in the interior and workers are moving back to their provinces, the vast majority still work and live on the coastal cities as second-class workers. If they bring their children with them, these children are not allowed to registered for school or receive benefits of official residence including the healthcare, education and housing. Their long estrangement from their children leaves deep scars. The film is powerful in showing the lives of these workers as they fight for the last train home.

See also:
Numerous nominations and awards listed at
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512201/awards?ref_=tt_awd
Winner: 2012 News & Documentary Emmy Awards in Outstanding Business & Economic Reporting, Best Documentary
Winner: 2009 Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival
Best Feature Length Documentary award
Winner: 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Best Documentary Feature Film
Winner: 2011 Cinema Eye Honors Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Production, Cinematography, Outstanding Achievement in International Feature
Winner: 2011 Genie Awards for Best Documentary
Winner: 2010 Jutra Awards for Best Documentary
Winner: 2010 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary
Winner: 2010 VC FilmFest - Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival: Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary and Special Jury Prize for Best Cinematography for Documentary
Winner: 2010 Zurich Film Festival: Special Mention award for International Documentary Film
See also:
http://www.laborfest.net/wp/event/last-train-home-2010-87-min-china/

For more event information:
415-642-8066