A heartfelt documentary series that captures the transformative odyssey of Chinese peasants, whose relentless perseverance and tenacity uplift them from enduring poverty to a destiny of prosperity and fulfillment.
A Long-Cherished Dream - is a four-part documentary series by Academy Award-winning director Malcolm Clarke and an international team of film-makers, which tells the poignant, personal stories of a small number of Chinese peasants who, after years of missing out on sharing the advantages and benefits of China's economic renaissance are finally turning their backs on lives of crushing rural poverty and taking their first steps on the road to fulfilling their dreams, ambitions and potential. The series explores the lives and challenges confronted by a feisty young female truck driver, a world-class acrobat with a troubled past, a grass-roots poverty relief official in a remote mountain region, and a group of hugely successful billionaires who came from nothing and contributed to the rise of an entirely new Chinese industry that grew to be among the biggest in the world. A Long-Cherished Dream tells intimate, personal stories of individual awakenings; throwing a candid light on both the struggles and the small personal victories that these unique characters experience on their challenging journey towards a better future.—Director
EPISODE 1: A ROOM OF THEIR OWNCHANG, the village secretary of poverty-stricken; 'Little Creek', has gone through many tough times of his own. In 2020, the most important year of China's 'War Against Poverty' he struggles to persuade the Wang family to leave their ancestral, rural home deep in the mountains, and relocate to the city.Synopsis: CHANG, a village secretary from extremely humble beginnings, serves in the poverty-stricken mountainous region in southwest China. As a smart kid, he never finished schooling because his family was too poor. After several unsuccessful years of being a migrant worker, he returned to his hometown and eventually became the village secretary of Little Creek.Serving as the most grass-root government official, he has to relay and execute policies passed down all the way from the top, and also bear the brunt of the villagers' complaints and conflicts.2020 is the deciding year of China's battle against extreme poverty, and Chang has to persuade the Wang family who has lived deep in the mountains for generations, to join several other families in relocating to the city's free housing. But for the Wang family, leaving behind the only place they know as home is by no means an easy decision.Will Chang succeed in his endeavor? Will the Wang family choose to hold onto their heritage, or uproot their lives in hope of better opportunities for future generations? What motivates Chang to do what he does when the salary is so meager and the workload disproportionally heavy?
EPISODE 2: DRIVE LIKE A GIRLLIN, a young, petite and feisty female truck driver with a tragic past, takes her trucker husband back to the village she escaped from in hopes of reconciling with her past.Synopsis: LIN, 24-years-old and and barely 1.5 meters tall, is a determined young woman who drives a 10-meter truck across 500 kilometers along China's east coastline every day. Pretty and out-going, she has gathered a following on social media.Her husband XUN, also a trucker, works a different route. With savings from their long-distance trucking, they manage to buy a car and are making big plans for the future.When Lin takes Xun back to the hometown she escaped from many years ago, her past from the poor mountain village ends up casting a deep chasm between the two. Will the young couple mend their relationship and join hands again, or is a different future waiting for them?
EPISODE 3: LEAP OF FAITHAccomplished acrobat Huaifu is no longer young for his career. Facing deteriorating physical condition and the guilt towards his family, Huaifu must choose how much he's willing to sacrifice for the profession he has grown to love.Synopsis: Huaifu, an exceptional acrobat, has lived and performed in metropolitan Shanghai for the past 20 years. Like many in his profession, he was sent away at an early age to train in acrobatics as a way out of poverty.At 35 years old and about to retire, he takes on a new challenge: to perform the lead role in a new acrobatic historical show Dawn of Shanghai. Before his performance, he takes his 5-year-old son back to his hometown in rural Henan.Revisiting old training grounds brought back memories of his nightmare childhood. In China, millions of peasants migrated from rural areas to major cities each year. Despite Huaifu demonstrates a different migrating pattern from other "rural-urban" migrant in terms of his motivations for migrating, choice of jobs, and socioeconomic integration, he represents the typical circumstance of alienating family due to the tense schedule and safety concern of his work.Reunion with parents and his old injury that catches up with him during rehearsal bring up this issue. Can Huaifu successfully put on the show?
EPISODE 4: THE TIE THAT BINDSDesperate to change their circumstances, a group of young people ventured out of their home village in the 90s and weathered through tremendous difficulties. They ended up becoming pioneers in China's private express delivery industry, which has since then grown to be the largest around the world.Synopsis: Back in the 80s, a group of teens in the impoverished mountain region along Fuchun River in Zhejiang Province made a pact: one day, they'll go out of the mountains and do something big together.In the 90s, they left one after another for the city, worked the most menial jobs and rode bikes all day long delivering items for people. Overcoming the public's doubts and retribution from the postal system, little by little, they managed to build an express delivery empire.30 years later, the teens then are now middle-age. While their hometown is regarded as the cradle of China's private express delivery industry, there are very few young people left in the village. Worried about the future of the place that nurtured them all, they make a new pact...
