Hooligan Sparrow
Nanfu Wang
The young film-maker Nanfu Wang accompanies activist Ye Haiyan, also known by the name of Hooligan Sparrow, to the south Chinese province of Hainan. Sparrow, who for years has promoted the rights of sex workers with provocative initiatives and powerful social media campaigns, wants to organise a public protest with fellow campaigners to raise awareness of a sex scandal involving six young schoolgirls – a case in which higher levels of government appear to be embroiled.
The campaigners soon come up against resistance. But neither constant state surveillance nor harassment can deter the activists or film-maker. They fight indefatigably and tenaciously against the intimidation tactics. And despite the difficult conditions, Nanfu Wang succeeds in documenting the events using hidden recording devices and guerrilla techniques.
»The chain of events I witnessed in the months that followed the protest shocked me. I’ve never had illusions about fairness in China’s justice system or the accountability of its government. But I never expected to see ordinary people turn on their neighbours who were fighting for their rights. I never expected to be attacked by screaming mobs just for filming on the street. I never expected to be interrogated by national security agents, and that my family and friends would be harassed and threatened by secret police. But this is the China I saw.«
– Nanfu Wang
Film series In This Together
Awards for ›Hooligan Sparrow‹
Truer Than Fiction Award – Independent Spirit Awards, USA 2017
Nanfu Wang
Independent film-maker Nanfu Wang lives and works in New York City. She comes from a remote village in the Chinese province of Jiangxi. After losing her father at the age of twelve, she was forced to forego formal education in order to work and support her family. She continued her education, however, and succeeded in securing work as a primary school teacher when she was sixteen. She subsequently received a full scholarship to study English and English Literature at Shanghai University, and then went on to gain two Master’s degrees from the School of Journalism at Ohio University and the Documentary Film Programme at the University of New York. Her mission is to tell stories about people who come from precarious backgrounds similar to her own. Since graduating, Wang has produced several short films. Hooligan Sparrow is her feature film debut.
