Filmed in HD digital video, “Dong” is a documentary about artist and actor Liu Xiaodong, who invited Jia Zhang-ke to film him as he painted two groups of subjects: laborers near the Three Gorges Dam and later, sex workers in Bangkok. “Still Life” was shot simultaneously, sharing the same setting and, in some instances, even the same shots. Han Sanming, one of “Still Life”‘s leads, also appears (in ‘character’) within “Dong”, along with other figures from that film, further emphasizing the connection between the two works.

Dong is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas

Expectedly, the documentary is split into two parts, each set in one of the aforementioned locations. The first takes place in the Three Gorges Region in 2005, documenting Liu Xiaodong’s process as he creates “Hot Bed”, a painting depicting 11 dam workers, most of whom are stripped to the waist (to say the least). During filming,...