Elementary Loves

The People’s Republic of China now plays a central role in global politics, economics and diplomacy – more than it ever has before. Its president, Xi Jinping openly espouses the model forged by former Chairman, Mao Zedong, known as the Great Helmsman. But what do we really know about Mao? And how does his legacy relate to Xi’s ‘China Dream’? This 3-part documentary series explores Mao Zedong, his beliefs and his methods. It shows how these have shaped Xi’s philosophy and the reality of today’s China. Mao had set China on the road to true sovereignty, freeing it from the humiliation of foreign domination. Xi is now completing that journey towards the strong Middle Kingdom and cultural predominance that Mao aimed for – while sweeping under the carpet the unthinkable victims and costs of Mao’s rule. The story arc of Mao’s astonishing biography provides varied and profound insights into the ideals, strategies and ambitions of today’s People’s Republic and its position in the next decade.

In 1990, one sixth of the population of Bhutan was exiled because they demanded greater democratic rights from the ruler. The film follows the story of Sarita, a 13-year-old girl born in Khudunabari, a refugee camp in Nepal where over 100,000 Bhutanese exiles live. Now they will be "relocated": thousands of families will be forced to emigrate and their Lotshampa identity will disappear forever. Sarita and her friends will not tell us their odyssey: they will dance and sing it.

Vincenzo, former head of maintenance of a steel plant that's been outsourced, travels from Italy to China to warn about a defective blast furnace.

The Chinatown in Milan is highly problematic, recording several murders a year, perpetrated with meat-axes, in the streets, by the light of the sun. When an Italian guy asks a Chinese girl's hand in marriage, this triggers a domino-like plot of confrontations among a crowd of characters. Starting from the focus on one of the largest and oldest Chinatowns in Europe, the film carries the spectators into a universal metaphor on hatred and dreams between West and China.