EDUCATORS’ TESTIMONIALS
RENMIN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA
“The film is very important for inspiring our imagination on modern China transformation.”
— ZHAO Xudong, Director & Professor, Institution of Anthropology, College of Sociology and Population, Beijing, China
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Thoughtful Exploration Of Rules Of Survival
“My primary research interest concerns a man who, to the best of our knowledge, did not have a family of his own, and therefore learnt about family values by living and engaging with other families. There’s an astonishing parallel evident in this documentary. Director Jocelyn Ford confessedly tries to remain detached, but finds herself unable to do so, as the enduring traits of hardship and sacrifice weigh heavily upon the conscience. It’s this openness that lends the documentary such credibility, and that itself is important when we’re trying to understand the depth of suspicion that exists between indigenous populations. It’s a tense film to watch, but occasionally comical as well: Yang Qing’s grandfather telling him to stay clear of the larger Chinese children and beat up the smaller ones elicited quite a response. Overall, ‘Nowhere to Call Home’ is a thoughtful exploration of why we can see the rules of survival differently, and how these rules begin to blur between fractious communities.”
— Scholar, London, UK
MINZU UNIVERSITY OF CHINA (ETHNIC MINORITIES UNIVERSITY)
“The documentary is compelling, and engages audiences in China to rethink the complicated relations among people from different ethnic groups who live in the same country, same city, even on the same street.”
— ZHU Jingjiang, Professor, Beijing, China
MARET HIGH SCHOOL
“My students were completely captivated by the story of Zanta, the Tibetan woman who is the subject of Jocelyn Ford’s fascinating film. Ford’s honest and unflinching depiction of Zanta’s difficulties enabled students to get beyond their idealized view of Tibetans and China and provoked serious reflection on important topics such as racism, sexism, economic inequality, and lack of educational opportunity. It is a wonderful way to engage students in exploring these and other critical issues facing our own society as well as China’s. Highly recommended!”
— Marsha Cohan, Chinese and humanities teacher, Washington D.C., U.S.
RENMIN HIGH SCHOOL
“Nowhere To Call Home provides an objective view of the barriers among different ethnic groups.This thought-provoking documentary reveals the harsh existence of the economically and socially disadvantaged. The issues it conveys provide ample food for thought.”
— YANG Renwang, Teacher of global citizenship and critical thinking, Beijing, China
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Protagonist Zanta’s Struggles Are Representative
“I used to do a little bit of volunteer work with an NGO trying to help children go to school in remote rural Ningxia, a Hui area, and I think some of these issues there were quite similar even though most places I visited appeared a little less cut off than Zanta’s home. I felt that the scene with the police and the landlord had a similar effect – I think anyone who’s lived in China and encountered the police there can relate to that; and it seemed important to me that while Zanta could claim to have been treated unfairly, the responses she got from the landlord and the police made you see that they, too, felt under all kinds of pressure, and might be seen as victims of the overall system with its unfairness, coerciveness, and weak legal protections. I’ve worked with and on human rights lawyers in China, and watching the film I can imagine that they would not have so much difficulty understanding many of Zanta’s issues. “
— Scholar, London, UK
