Self-Portrait: Sphinx in 47 KM

  • 9 10
  • 2010
  • 94min
Self-Portrait: Sphinx in 47 KM
  • Original Title: Zi Hua Xiang: 47 Gong Li Si Fen Ke Si (2018)

The pass of time has left a blank space in a sentence written on the facade of a humble rural house in China: "Only__ism Can Save China". An old woman and a girl, each with their life experiences, try to elucidate the riddle.

Self-Portrait: Sphinx in 47 KM
Awards

AWARDS: Special Mention. Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival OFFICIAL

SELECTIONS: Visions du Réel/ DMZ International Documentary Film Festival “White Goose Award”/ Open City Documentary Festival/ MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL/ Festival International Jean Rouch/ Festival de Cine Lima Independent

Self-Portrait Sphinx Sphinx in 47 KM. Filling in the blank spaces in rural China

In the opening shot, we see a wall on which is written a political slogan. Because of rain and a courtyard door, this slogan has become a fill-in-the-blank question: “Only ____ism Can Save China.”

The resident of the house fills in the blank while she tells us the story of her deceased son. Meanwhile, in the same village, the 14-year-old girl Fang Hong paints her dreams on the wall of her house.

The slogan wall and the dream wall become the landscape of this village. Are they posing a question? Or are they offering an answer?   It is like the great riddle of the Sphinx. 

Zhang Mengqi
Zhang Mengqi Director

Production Companies

Zhang Mengqi


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