A Boatman on the Bund | Arrow Factory
Director: Guo Rongfei—Arrow Factory
Guo Rongfei’s documentary short absorbs viewers in the quiet, intimate life of a three-generation migrant family of five, who work and live on their small family-run barge, cruising across and mooring alongside Shanghai’s Huangpu River day and night. “Every time we pass by the Bund, my entire family gets out to admire it,” says Wang Fuchao, the barge's captain, referring to the night view of the illuminated waterfront of the city. Over a dinner table set up on the barge’s deck, the Wang family reflects on the reality that it probably will never be able to afford to settle in the city, despite living on its water for over a decade. “It feels like we don’t belong,” says Wang Fuchao. “We’re like a boat on the river with nowhere to dock.”
The Bund often appears in images intended to showcase China’s prosperity. But the Wang family’s story offers a glimpse into how distant its grandeur remains even for people living closest to it.
The video is part of a non-narrative short doc series about The Bund and its human stories, sponsored by Signify, a spin-off of the lighting division of Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Caption information
Guo Rongfei’s documentary short absorbs viewers in the quiet, intimate life of a three-generation migrant family of five, who work and live on their small family-run barge, cruising across and mooring alongside Shanghai’s Huangpu River day and night. “Every time we pass by the Bund, my entire family gets out to admire it,” says Wang Fuchao, the barge's captain, referring to the night view of the illuminated waterfront of the city. Over a dinner table set up on the barge’s deck, the Wang family reflects on the reality that it probably will never be able to afford to settle in the city, despite living on its water for over a decade. “It feels like we don’t belong,” says Wang Fuchao. “We’re like a boat on the river with nowhere to dock.”
The Bund often appears in images intended to showcase China’s prosperity. But the Wang family’s story offers a glimpse into how distant its grandeur remains even for people living closest to it.
The video is part of a non-narrative short doc series about The Bund and its human stories, sponsored by Signify, a spin-off of the lighting division of Koninklijke Philips N.V.