Synopsis of the Film: Guo Deping was born in China, in 1966, during the time of the Cultural Revolution. He describes how he and his six siblings grew up living in a cave - which was not unusual in Henan province at that time. Cave dwellings had been popular places to live for centuries - cosy, well insulated and sometimes even luxurious. We visit some people who still live in caves today. Guo describes his family's struggle to survive during a period when millions died of starvation, and speaks very movingly about his love for his parents, who suffered so much, and died before they could enjoy the life of comparative ease and plenty available today.
Bio-filmography of the Director: Pankaja Brooke studied film for a year at the first London Film School, in Electric Avenue, Brixton in the late 1950's. Worked for couple of years at Balfour Films, a documentary company, but didn't manage to get into the union, so decided to write novels instead, of which 4 were published. Now, since I can do all the editing on my own computer (with the help of the guys in the Apple shops in London) I'm enjoying making movies again. So far I've made one on kung fu, 'Chan Wu Yi Wugulun Kung Fu' (16 mins) which was shown at the San Francisco Film Festival 2010, is being shown in the Itzon online Film Festival in December 2010. There's also another longer film about this Martial Arts academy in China on Vimeo, and I'm in the process of making a longer film about the Wugulun Lineage for this wonderful kung fu school. Also finished, is a film about a home for destitute children in Rishikesh, North India, called 'Children of Ramana's Garden'. This was selected for the Punte del Este Film Festival 2010, the Barcelona Film Festival 2010, and the Amritsar International Film Festival of Mind, Body and Spirit 2011 in Swansea, Wales, UK.
Annual Program Without Frontiers - Guo's Childhood
