On May 12th, 2008, the Chinese province of Sichuan was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people. Among them were 5,000 school-aged children. The Next Life is about the enormous sorrow of parents who lost their child - often their only child. Telling the story of Ye Hongmei, who tried to be a mother for the second time, Indie film forum presents The Next Life followed by a discussion with the filmmaker Fan Jian.

The Next Life

Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, China Jury’s Special Award (2011)

Shortlisted for International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2012)

The Next Life

2011. China.90min. CN&EN subtitles

In May 2010, Ye Hongmei, a native of Dujiangyan city in Sichuan province, started her Odyssey to get pregnant again. Her eight year old daughter was killed in the devastating Wenchuan earthquake of 2008, a catastrophe that killed and maimed more than 6000 children. Due to China's one-child policy, most of the grieving families were left childless. Among them, about 5000 couples are planning to have new babies. This surge in child-birth has almost become a ritual where a new life is seen as the reincarnation of the lost one. Hongmei, our heroine, expressly wishes for a daughter. Refusing to come to terms with the reality, she believes that another girl would mean the return of her gone daughter. The birth of a son, on the other hand, is unacceptable to her. However, at age 40, pregnancy becomes an ordeal for her. Oviduct inflammation makes her chance of conceiving slim. Since she is reluctant to adopt a child, in vitro fertilization becomes her only option. To this end she has to bear extraordinary pains: she travels 50 miles every day just to receive injections and blood tests. Back home, she has to go through acupuncture treatment. This arduous process takes a toll on her health and she is on the brink of a break-down. While her husband takes good care of her at home, he is jobless and lives on unemployment compensation. He is also fond of drinking and smoking. Instead of showing unswerving love for his wife, he thinks of divorce when the prospects of Hongmei getting pregnant begin to dwindle. The government covers the two attempts by each couple to get in vitro fertilization but the couple has to bear all additional costs. There are other sources of grievances too: on the anniversary of the earthquake, the authorities tried to prevent parents from holding public memorial to remember their children.

Among Hongmei's female friends who likewise lost children in the earthquake, some got pregnant. Others didn't. In either case, it could be a source of stress for her. Meanwhile she becomes increasingly concerned about her age. The weakening health and financial strains make her second in vitro fertilization attempt her last, with considerable risks. Can she make it?

Fan Jian graduated from the Department of Directing at the Beijing Film Academy. Jian is an independent filmmaker living in Beijing. He used to work for China Central Television and has made more than twenty short documentary films. In 2006, his documentary film on Chinese migrant workers, Dancing in the City, was selected by the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam and screened at numerous film festivals around the world. In 2008 his film Taxi was among the Top Ten Documentaries at the China Independent Film Festival (CIFF). The film also screened at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and OXDOX. Jian’s latest documentary film The Next Life records the arduous efforts of having another child by a couple who lost their only daughter during the Sichuan Earthquake of 2008. A co-production with NHK & AJE, The Next Life will screen at multiple international film festivals and TV stations in 2011.

Moderator: Liu Shu

Partner: Hour Hand Film Workshop