Hooligan Sparrow, Director Nanfu Wang

Hooligan Sparrow film poster IThe danger is palpable as intrepid young filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows maverick activist Ye Haiyan (a.k.a Hooligan Sparrow) and her band of colleagues to Hainan Province in southern China to protest the case of six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. Marked as enemies of the state, the activists are under constant government surveillance and face interrogation, harassment, and imprisonment. Sparrow, who gained notoriety with her advocacy work for sex workers’ rights, continues to champion girls’ and women’s rights and arms herself with the power and reach of social media. Filmmaker Wang becomes a target along with Sparrow, as she faces destroyed cameras and intimidation. Yet she bravely and tenaciously keeps shooting, guerrilla-style, with secret recording devices and hidden-camera glasses, and in the process, she exposes a startling number of undercover security agents on the streets. Eventually, through smuggling footage out of the country, Wang is able tell the story of her journey with the extraordinary revolutionary Sparrow, her fellow activists, and their seemingly impossible battle for human rights. Director Nanfu Wang stops by for a conversation on her daunting journey to bring this story to light and Ye Haiyan’s bravery in the face of overwhelming obstacles. 

http://hooligansparrow.com/

LA Asian-Pacific Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize

Dallas Film Festival – Silver Heart Award

Sheffield Doc/Fest – Special Jury Prize

International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights – Youth Prize AND Jury Prize

Movies that Matter – Golden Butterfly AND Human Rights Award

Nashville Film Festival – Special Jury Prize for Badass Filmmaking

Ashland Independent – Best Documentary

Greenwich Film Festival – Best Documentary AND Best Social Impact Film

Human Rights Watch NY – Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking

Northwest Fest – Best International Feature

“A whistleblowing documentary made with fearless guerrilla cunning …” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Other movies have more powerfully exposed the corruption of contemporary China, but few have so articulately confronted how women always seem to be the first citizens to have their wings clipped.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“[A] tremendous documentary …” – Diana Clark, Village Voice

“This is independent filmmaking at its most courageous. By keeping faith with her subjects, she put herself at risk, which is beyond admirable.” – Joe Bendel, Epoch Times

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *