>> Fr. 26.10.2007 >> Spektral >> 20:15

by Weijun Chen, China 2007, 52 Min

SYNOPSIS: Wuhan is a city in central China about the size of London, and it is here that director Weijun Chen has conducted an experiment in democracy. A grade 3 class at Evergreen Primary School has their first encounter with democracy by holding an election to select a Class Monitor. Eight-year olds compete against each other for the coveted position, abetted and egged on by teachers and doting parents. Elections in China take place only within the Communist Party, but recently millions of Chinese voted in their version of Pop Idol. The purpose of Weijun Chen’s experiment is to determine how, if democracy came to China, it would be received. Is democracy a universal value that fits human nature? Do elections inevitably lead to manipulation? Please Vote for Me is a portrait of a society and a town through a school, its children and its families.

http://www.whydemocracy.net/film/3

biography of the director:

WEIJUN CHEN is a documentary director and producer living in Wuhan, China. After graduating in Journalism from the Sichuan University in 1992 he joined the documentary production department of the Wuhan regional TV station. His first film My Life Is My Philosophy (30’) was nominated for the best documentary of the year by the Chinese National Association of Broadcasters. In 2003 he completed To Live Is Better Than To Die (88’), which was awarded a Peabody and Grierson award, as well at the Rodlf Vrfba Award from the One World Festival. Please Vote For Me won the Sterling Feature Award at the Silverdocs Documentary Festival (2007).