A film by Katharina Copony. 3SAT-Dokumentarfilmpreis für den Besten Deutschsprachigen Dokumentarfilm, Duisburger Filmwoche 2009
"The rule of the ocean is that big fish eat little fish! The phrase 'business ocean' implies that it's tough and really hard! If you don't pay attention, you'll be eaten and will drown! If you're successful, you'll glide across the ocean like a triumphant sailboat!"
The film centers on three Chinese people in Bucharest, who migrated there in the early 1990s. It follows their paths through Romania's metropolis and traces their varying connections with Europe's largest Chinese market on the periphery of the city. Episode by episode, it accompanies the central characters through the striking contrasts of their daily routines and business milieus, telling a story of what it is like to be foreign and of cultural displacement. Ultimately, the story underscores the challenge to immerse oneself into the unknown while continually reinventing oneself in the process.
Katharina Copony in Koproduktion mit HiFilm Productions (Romania), Komplizen Film (Germany), gefördert von Innovative Film Austria, Cinestyria Filmkunst, mit Unterstützung des Österreichischen Kulturforums Bukarest.
Shen Xiaoming
Li Jianhua
Liu Yuexia
Written and directed by
Katharina Copony
Director of Photography
Bernhard Keller
Editing
Stefan Stabenow
Translation
Rui Li-Stickland
Original Sound
Pavel Cuzuioc
Sebastian Kleinloh
Sound Design
Kuen-Il Song
Sound Mixing
Andreas Hildebrandt
Co-producers
Hifilm Productions and Komplizen Film
Producer
Katharina Copony
Duisburg Film Week 2009
3SAT-Documentary Film Award
Diagonale Graz 2009
Duisburg Film Week
noulcinematograf, Muzeul Taranului Roman 2009
3rd Annual Toronto-Romanian Film Festival 2010
One World Filmfestival, Bucharest 2010
Documentary Film Festival Hamburg 2010