Two cultures collide in this unusual tale of globalization, which documents the dismantling of a massive smelting complex in Germany for shipment to and reassembly in China. A state-of-the-art facility built at a cost of more than 650 million Euros in 1992, the Kaiserstuhl coke factory in the Ruhr Valley was closed only eight years later when the cost of importing coke became cheaper than manufacturing it. Filmed over an eighteen-month period, LOSERS AND WINNERS chronicles the entire amazing process, featuring interviews with the Germans, who must watch as their former workplace is broken down into moveable sections, and the Chinese managers and low-paid workers, isolated from their homes and families, most of whom will receive their salary only upon completion of the project.
In addition to the disparity between feelings of national pride, LOSERS AND WINNERS, which was originally released in 2006, reveals the ironies and ambiguities inherent in such global economic changes, the respective sensations of loss and accomplishment, and of differing personal prospects for the future.
LOSERS AND WINNERS has received the following awards:
Best International Feature, 2007 Hot Docs International Documentary Festival
Film Critics Award, 2007 Chicago International Documentary Festival
Special Jury Award, 2007 It’s All True Brazil
Best Film Award, 2007 One World Prague
The 96-minutes documentary will be screened on Monday, March 4, at 7pm in Harbour Centre of SFU. Languages spoken are German and Mandarin with English subtitles. Admission is FREE.
Photos Courtesy of Icarus Films