Cotton

A Feature film of

Zhou Hao

Produced by

Écrans des Mondes (ICTV)

Production year2014

Runtime1 h 23 min

Synopsis

From growing to harvesting cotton, spinning thread to make fabric, creating clothing, and finally selling it, the clothing industry is intricately connected to the lives of its tens of millions of Chinese famers, laborers and middle managers. The observant camera exposes the hidden labor exploitation that exists at each step of the clothing industry across China, from cotton picking in Xinjiang, to the grand scale textile factories, to the clothing factories in the cities. On a hot summer day, women from the border board the cheapest cars to travel three days on a crowded train to Xinjiang in order to pick cotton. Upon arrival they work 14-hour days, from dawn to dusk, to support their families. Having worked non-stop for 10 years, thousands of kilometers away from home, textile factory workers are slowly becoming strangers to their own children. Each woman plays her role within the cycle of the clothing industry. Their migration, labor and life are chronicled by Hao Zhou, whose camera stands affectionately beside the neglected in this capitalist society.