Republic

From the street, Li Eryang’s “Republic” is barely visible, a little room that appears to have been left as a tiny cavity between the surrounding houses. Despite its inconspicuous appearance from the outside, on the inside it’s huge. A hiding place, a home base and an experiment all rolled into one. With lots of time and passion, scarves and coloured light, Eryang has created a free space for himself and his “Cosmic Bros”. Anyone who comes by, comes by and becomes a citizen of a society with humanistic laws. The repressive social credit system of the People’s Republic is left at the door. With psychedelic music and a few mind-expanding drugs, hippiedom, capitalism and Xi Jinping can all be harmonised on a sofa and mattress. The money you need to live is under a little pyramid on the shelf. An economic miracle. But as it turns out, even here there’s no short cut, either to the idyll or to a just society. The experiment needs reworking. Jin Jiang’s documentary film shows the radical exit attempt of young adults as a tableau vivant: In the heart of Beijing, Chinese youngsters lounge and cuddle for their freedom. (Fabian Tietke)

Jin Jiang was born in Luoyang, Henan Province in 1989. In 2010, he was introduced to contemporary arts, and in 2013, his first solo exhibition “In the Field of Hope” was held. In 2015, he was hired to participate in the shooting and editing of a film, and in 2016, he began to make a film on his own. His film Shang’ajia earned the Grand Jury Prize at the 14th Beijing Independent Film Festival.

Production Guo Xiao-Dong. Production company Levo Films (Singapur, Singapore). Director Jin Jiang. Cinematography Jin Jiang. Editing Jin Jiang. Sound design Jin Jiang. Sound Jin Jiang. With Li Eryang, Li, Bai, Jiaojiao, VT, Lily, Xiao Yu, Qu Yizhen.

World sales New Asian Filmmakers Collective

Films: 2017: Shang’ajia. 2020: One Day (short documentary), The Broken Ridge. 2023: Republic.

Bonus Material