Weve seen plenty about the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan, China at 14:28 on May 12, 2008 through the cameras of the mainstream media, but Mainland Chinese documentary filmmaker Du Haibin offers another side of the story in his candid coverage of the disaster & its aftermath. Winning Best Documentary at the 66th Venice Film Festival, 1428 observes with cold eyes the absurd & tragic reality of post-quake Sichuan in Dus full-scope, multi-threaded narrative, baring the frailty of human nature in the process. Edited by Mary Stephen
- a frequent collaborator of French auteur Eric Rohmer
- the film first takes us to ground zero in the 10 days after the great earthquake amidst the public grief & rescue efforts. In the second half, the film flashes forward to 200 days after as we follow the lives of some survivors in the cold, harsh winter of Sichuan.