Rita Andreetti
Director
In 2013 I happened to meet a Chinese documentary director and painter, Hu Jie. When the door of his modest apartment opened, a whole world literally opened up before my eyes. After our first meeting, I came to know that he was under special surveillance, and I realized that I had just met my first ever Chinese dissident. I was impressed by the stubbornness that led his mission, no matter how dangerous the opponent or how tough the fight. I had not known Hu Jie long, but I was totally amazed by his conduct. He gave me a magnifying glass to look at China, that country I was tenaciously trying to live in and understand. I avidly devoured all of his films: a huge archive of urgent communication, historical philology, and humanist mission. Here I found priceless truths about the Chinese Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution; I recognized a part of the Chinese past that I had previously completely ignored. That’s it. That is when I got framed. Now, just like him, I cannot escape the urgency of recounting this story, because what he is doing is simply vital for the identity of the Chinese people. After a few years, I realized that my support and comprehension of his fight can be very important. I’m living where Hu Jie lives and I can understand the way he is forced to compromise his mission every day; not only Hu Jie himself but many others like him. Nobody else will dare to film his story, no Chinese can take the risk. In this way, I hope my presence can be the means to preserve his freedom of speech; this is what can help him fight his battle. Hu Jie has done so much for me: his heroism has been key not only to my understanding of China but has learned a whole new perspective in my entire life. I hope that through this documentary, Hu Jie could be someone else’s inspiration too.