Taming the Horse
The films gathered in this series were all directed and produced during the last ten years. They sometimes show the state of the world. These singular works also explore new poetic registers, methods of filming that surprise by their capacity to render the air we breathe, with a sense of metaphor, provocation or play.
This is the story of the friendship between director Tao Gu and his childhood friend, Dong. Ten years ago, Tao promised Dong he would return with him to the Inner Mongolian village where he grew up. After moving to a large city in southern China in the wake of economic reforms, Dong lost his bearings. And then Tao found him a decade later, camera in hand, ready to document their trip. Deeply alienated by hyper-capitalist society, the young man vents his rage to his filmmaker friend. Far from judging alienated Chinese youth, the director tries to understand a world from which he himself is alienated. An uncompromising portrait of a tortured soul whose ideals have been stolen.
Trailer with english subtitles. The movie will be in VOSTF.
Tao Gu
Tao Gu was born in Wenchuan, Si Chuan Province in China. He initiated his artistic endeavours in 1998 as an experimental radio host in China, and soon after began exploring a variety of creative media. From 2004 to 2007, he studied in Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, majoring in Film Production. Upon his arrival in Canada, his cinematic work shifted towards experimental filmmaking. The films he created have been shown in over 60 film/art festivals worldwide, including Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Toronto International film festival, and won numerous world-renowned prizes including "The Special Jury Prize" at International Short Film Festival- Clermont-Ferrand, "Best Director" at Curta Cinema Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, "Canadian Top 10" at Toronto International Film Festival. (IMDB)
