CIFF Docs HOOLIGAN SPARROW web 2

Hooligan Sparrow

Year 2016
Runtime 84 mins
Language Chinese, English
Subtitles English

Selected as a Top 10 Audience Favourite of the Festival 

Chinese activist Ye Haiyan already had a reputation as an agitator when six schoolgirls went missing in her province in 2013. A prominent women's rights activist, she had made a name for herself protesting for the rights of sex workers while blogging under the name of “Hooligan Sparrow.” So when two school officials are investigated for kidnapping and sexually abusing six schoolchildren, Ye's fierce protests quickly go viral.

Documentarian Nanfu Wang chronicles the resulting harassment, eviction and violence that Ye endures while also investigating corrupt public servants, plain-clothed policemen that suddenly turn their intimidation efforts towards her. A harrowing whistleblower story shot mostly on a hidden camera and smuggled out of the country, HOOLIGAN SPARROW is a testament to the bravery of both the subject and the filmmaker.

Director
Nanfu Wang
Producer
Michael Shade, Nanfu Wang
Screenwriter
Mark Monroe, Nanfu Wang
Cinematographer
Nanfu Wang
Editor
Nanfu Wang
Production Design
Peter Lucas
Music
Nathan Halpern, Chris Ruggiero
Cast
Ye Haiyan, Wang Yu