The film zooms in on a third-grade class in a primary school in the city of Wuhan, central China. These schoolchildren have their first encounter with democratic rules through a class experiment. Three eight-year old children compete for the position of class monitor, influenced by their doting parents, for whom they are their only child – as enforced by state policy. The three main characters take up the challenge in different ways through their campaign strategies, canvassing and election promises. Less self-conscious than their parents, they reflect existing social values more bluntly and honestly than adults.
Production
Don Edkins, Steps International, Axeltorv 12 Bygning C, DK-1609 Copenhagen V, Denmark,
[email protected], http://pleasevoteforme.org
Awards
2007 – Sterling Feature Award at Silverdocs DF; Founders Award at Traverse City FF; 2008 – Jury Award, Golden Bull at Bahrain HRIFF; Emmy Award Nominee; Grierson Award for Most Entertaining Documentary
Director
Weijun Chen
Weijun Chen is a documentary director and producer living in Wuhan, China. After graduating in Journalism from Sichuan University in 1992, he joined the Documentary Production Department of the Wuhan regional TV station. Please Vote for Me was part of the Why Democracy? global documentary project, receiving over 15 awards including a Grierson and a Emmy nomination.
Selected Filmography
My Life Is My Philosophy (1994), The Evolution of the City (1999), To Live Is Better Than To Die (2003), Please Vote For Me (2007), The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World (2008), Law of the Dragon (2011), Education, Education (2012)
