DVD: China Blue
$30.00
DVD-CB
Like no other film before, China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see – how the clothes we buy are actually made.
Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. The working conditions Jasmine and her friends must endure are harsh beyond imagination. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers' faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China's rapid transformation into a free market society - and the consequences.
The filmmakers were repeatedly jailed and their videotape confiscated. But they persisted to produce this unprecedented inside look at sweatshop life in China today. The film is a remarkable eye-opener. Besides the film's distributor, we are the only other source in the U.S. for this DVD.
• Winner of the Amnesty Human Rights Award at the Amsterdam International
film Festival
• Official Selection - Human Rights Film Festival
• Official Selection - Full Frame Documentary Festival
• Official Selection - Toronto International Film Festival
• Winner - Best Documentary. Mar Del Plata Film Festival
• "Compelling...gives the phrase 'sweatshop' a whole different perspective."
- Miami Herald
• "Peled's film is a must-see - if not by the average consumer, then by politicians and U.N. officials." - Film Journal International
• "Surprising access and intimacy." – Variety
• "Heartbreaking, truly unforgettable." – Boston Phoenix
• "China Blue lends itself to sparking classroom discussion because the story
it tells is both crystal-clear and complex.
• "Eye-opening...Peled was harrassed at every turn by Chinese officials, but he managed to get this shocking film made. That's just one reason China Blue is worthy of praise." - N.Y. Post
• "Surprisingly fair-minded...it gives its heart and soul to the girls." - the Nation
Until American consumers begin to care about the injustices to the workers in the sweatshops that make 60% of the goods sold in our country, this system of shameful child labor will continue and grow. This film could be the turning point in U.S. consumers' consciousness - if only enough of us see it, change our buying habits and act to demand change. U.S. importers rationalize this system and turn a blind eye to its grim reality, eager to cash in on low cost at the real expense of grossly exploited human labor. Show it to your friends and neighbors. Discuss what you've seen. Pass it on to others to do the same. Have a showing at your local library, church, community center, union hall.
It was shown on PBS TV in March 2007. A co-production of ITVS and Teddy Bear Films in association with CPB, CAAM, with additional funding from the Sundance Documentary Fund.
