REVIEWS
"A superb debut, achingly gorgeous, this is a case of caged insiders yearning for the fresh air of free-range outsiders... Graceful camera movements and striking compositions offset the dungeon that controls their life." -
indieWIRE
“...the stark melancholia achieves a rare authenticity, perhaps most pointedly manifested in the objective correlative of the mineshaft itself, the dismal bowels of which we only see in two brief and uneventful scenes. The family doesn't abhor mining because it's hazardous or arduous, but because it represents their only career option: It's a Plutonian symbol of universal resignation... The intermittent genius of director Zhang Chi resides in how he juxtaposes this social claustrophobia with scenes of refreshing but elegiac liberation." -
Slant Magazine
"The first feature from the young Chinese director Zhang Chi, 'The Shaft' feels as though it were made by a very old soul. Tight and tender, this small family drama is so visually expressive that listening is always subordinate to looking." -
New York Times
"...a meditative examination of the decaying social and economic structure in rural China." -
This Week In New York
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
2009
Shown at New Directors/New Films Series, SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
BRADFORD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
LOS ANGELES PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL
SILK SCREEN ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTICAL
TRENTON FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL
GASPARILLA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Contemporary World Cinema Selection, SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
2008
Special Jury Award. MARRAKECH FILM FESTIVAL
Window on Asian Cinema Selection, PUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Crystal Globe Nominee, KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
GOA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
MIDDLE EAST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
TURIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
HAMBURG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
GHENT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
VALENCIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection, VALDIVIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
1st Junior Jury Award, LYON ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
Jury Award, DEAUVILLE ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection, ROME ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
NETPAC Jury Award, TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BERGIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
EAST LONDON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BRADFORD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
SAN PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Best Director Award; Silver Prize, BOGOTA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
1st Junior Jury Award, LYON ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
Jury Award, DEAUVILLE ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
NETPAC Jury Award, TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
