Synopse

At the end of the 1990s, Chen Shengli was an infamous criminal in a mining town in the North-East of China. After 10 years in prison, he is released into a world that seems to have no use for people like him. All the same, Shengli wants to get a foothold in life as a normal citizen – as head of a kindergarten. But, while good/bad Uncle Chen is quickly popular with the children, his former business associates still have a few scores to settle. Zhang Meng has made a bitter-sweet, laconic drama about the wish for a new start and the shadows of the past against the backdrop of a country changing at breakneck pace. In competition for the Hamburg Film Critic Award.

Regie

Zhang Meng (*1975) trained in the theatre in Beijing before writing screenplays for several years. His international breakthrough as a director came with The Piano in a Factory (FilmFest Hamburg 2011). Uncle Victory is his third feature film.

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