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On a Tightrope

On a Tightrope

Multi-award winning documentary film offering rare insight into the prosecution of China’s Muslim minority.

On a Tightrope is a heartwarming and beautiful documentary film with a grave backdrop. The documentary follows four children at a government orphanage in Xinjiang, China. The four are learning the ancient Uyghur tradition of Dawaz, tightrope walking.

The children’s struggle to master the tightrope becomes a metaphor for their lives, as they walk the line between being true to their cultural and religious heritage and the communist party’s harsh demands for obedience.

China’s Xinjiang province is the site of one of the world’s worst human rights violations; Muslim Uyghurs are systematically oppressed. Under the excuse of suspected separatism at least 10,000 have been imprisoned and hundreds have been executed. The situation in Xinjiang is comparable to the situation in Tibet. But without a strong leader the Chinese are more brutal when dealing with the peaceful Uyghurs, knowing the world pays little attention.

On a Tightrope is the best documentary ever to depict the situation in the closed region of Xinjiang. The film was in competition at Sundance Film Festival. It received rave reviews and caused great debate when released in cinemas.


Technical Specifications
Year
2006
Length
71 min
Languages
Uyghur, Mandarin
Production companies
Piraya Film, Lom Films
Production countries
Norway, Canada
Sales/Distribution International Sales
Kudos Family. Festival distribution: The Norwegian Film Institute.
Format
BetaCam
World Premiere
IDFA 2006
IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925260


Gallery


Awards

2007 Astra Film Festival: International Section Award offered by the Raþiu Charitable Family Foundation, Romania
2007 Chicago International Documentary Film Festival: Chicago Doc Short Film Grand Prix
2006 Watch Docs, Warszawa: Watch Doc Award

Festivals

2009 Jakarta Int. Film Festival, Indonesia
2009 Millennium Festival, Bruxelles, Belgium
2008 Golden Minbar, Kazan, Russia
2008 Russian Anthropoligical Film Festival
2008 Festival de Cinéma de Douarnenez, France
2008 Worldfilm, Tartu, Estonia
2008 Bilan du Film – Jean Rouch Film Festival, France
2008 Int’l Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights. Geneva, Switzerland
2008 Tempo Documentary Film Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
2008 Glasgow Film Festival, Scotland
2007 United Nations Association Film Festival, Stanford, USA
2007 Astra Filmfest, Romania
2007 Mostra São Paulo Int’l Film Festival Brazil
2007 Document 5- International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Scotland
2007 Perspektive – Nürnberger Filmfestival der Menschenrechte
2007 Taiwan Int’l Ethnographic Film Festival
2007 DOCNZ, New Zealand
2007 Flahertiana, Perm, Russia
2007 Dokufest Prizren, Kosovo
2007 Golden Apricot, Yerevan Int’l Film Festival, Armenia
2007 Pärnu International Film Festival, Estonia
2007 Maryland Int’l Film Festival, USA
2007 Norwegian Documentary Film Festival Volda
2007 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, USA
2007 Kontakt – Ukranian Documentary Film Festival – Norwegian special
2007 Philadelphia Film Festival, USA
2007 Chicago Documentary Film Festival, USA
2007 DocAviv, Tel Aviv Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Israel
2007 Cleveland Int’l Film Festival, USA
2007 EuroDok, European Documentary Film Festival, Oslo, Norway
2007 One World Human Rights Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
2007 ZagrebDox, Croatia
2007 Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden
2007 Sundance Film Festival, USA
2006 Watch Docs, Warszawa, Poland
2006 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, The Netherlands


Credits

director and co-producer
Petr Lom

assistant director
Anonymous

camera and editor
Petr Lom

editorial consultants
Anna Contomitros
Nathaniel Dorsky

producer
Torstein Grude

associate producer
Bjarte Mørner Tveit

executive producers
Torstein Grude
Bjarte Mørner Tveit
Anna Contomitros
Therese Jebsen
Jan Ramstad
Jan Rofekamp

sound mix
Radosław Skłodowski
Iwo Klimek

trailer editors
Stian Indrevoll
Morten Rørvig

production assistants
Helga Maria Sulen Sund
Dag Rune Ekse
Mari Linn Larsen

graphic design
Audun Landmark

co-produced with:
The Rafto Foundation
Humanistische Omroep

Supported by:
The Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo
Nordic Film & TV Fund
Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
Norwegian Fund for Sound & Image
Sparebanken Vest
Sundance Documentary Fund
Western Norwegian Film Centre

And produced in association with:
CBC
Channel 4
Estonian Television
NRK
SBS TV
TSR
TV3 Televisió de Catalunya
YLE Teema

Petr Lom supported by:
Center for Policy Studies, CEU

with gratitude to:
all our Uighur friends
and
Jordi Ambros
Arken
Mark Atkin
Kriszta Biber
Odd Brandtzægg
Peter Bøe
Ori Dasberg
Hans Dragesund
IDFA Forum
Kristin Feeley
Eva Færevaag
Miguel Glatzer
Diana Holtzberg
Bert Janssens
Marje Jurtshenko
Christopher Kamyszew
Anita Karpati
Shannon Kelley
Pamela Kilpadi
Fleur Knopperts
Gaspard Lamunière
Jørn Lekve
Anna, Emi and Eli Lom
Jitka Lom
Tue Steen Müller
John Nadai
Maciej Nowicki
Catherine Olsen
Leena Pasanen
Adam, Arya and Leila Rahmani
Kia Rahmani
Bente Roalsvig
Diane Rotteau
Solrun Samnøy
Randi Schulz
Gail Silva
Guri Skjeldal
Katie Speight
Michael Stewart
Duco Tellegen
Amanda Theunissen
Tore Tomter
Barbara Truyen
Iikka Vehkalahti
Manja Wilkinson

Festival Distribution: Norwegian Film Institute

World Sales: Films Transit

Cinema Distribution, Norway: Tour de Force AS

© Piraya Film AS & Lom Films 2006

www.onatightrope.org