Yana is a 24-year-old rural migrant who recently arrived in Chongqing to pursue her "Chinese Dream." Drawn by the glamour and easy riches of China's historic real estate boom, she opens a foreigner rental agency designed to help Chinese real estate developers market their new developments. But this business takes a dubious turn as her foreigners are increasingly used in a surreal effort to turn remote rural ghost towns into "globalized booming cities" on the days that outside investors and political leaders visit. When the inevitable happens and the real estate bubble starts to pop, Yana is forced to sell her company and reassess everything she ever believed in. Shot over several years, the film is at once a personal story and an on-the-ground chronicle of one of the most critical economic issues of our time.
| Original title | Dream Empire |
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| Danish title | Den kinesiske drøm |
| Keywords | China, Young people, Young women, Entrepreneurs, Residences, Neighborhoods, 2010-2019 |
| Director | David Borenstein |
| Producer | Jesper Jack |
| Director of Photography | Lars Skree |
| Editor | Anders Villadsen, Christian Einshøj |
| Composer | Jason Prover |
| Production country | Denmark |
| Domestic distribution | Danske Filminstitut |
| International sales | Gunpowder & Sky Distribution |
| Danish theatrical release | 16.03.2017 |
| Cinemas | Cinemateket CPH:PIX 2017 |
| Comment | First feature documentary by American director and anthropologist David Borenstein, who started making Dream Empire while in China doing a PhD on the country’s housing boom. The film was selected for IDFA’s First Appearance competition. |
| DFI subsidy | Konsulentstøtte |
| Danish rating | Allowed for children over the age of 11 |
Companies |
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| Executive Producer | House of Real |
| With support from | Det Danske Filminstitut |
| Domestic distribution | Danske Filminstitut |
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Direction |
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| Direction | David Borenstein |
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Production |
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| Producer | Jesper Jack |
| Production manager | Freja Delgado |
| Production manager | Christian von der Recke |
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Cinematography |
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| Cinematographer | Lars Skree |
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Editing |
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| Editor | Anders Villadsen |
| Editor | Christian Einshøj |
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Music |
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| Music | Jason Prover |
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Reviews and articles
On the library you can find these articles and revies and other material about the film.
| Type | Source | Author | Date |
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| Anmeldelse | Politiken-Fonden | Ifversen, Karsten | 2016-03-10 |
Watch the film
