ALWAYS

In a Chinese mountain village, a teacher encourages his class to write poetry. Eight-year-old Gong Youbin proves to be exceptionally talented, his verses offer him an escape from hard farm work, poverty, and loneliness. In his lyrical documentary, Deming Chen captures the rhythms of rural life and follows Youbin over several years as his childhood dreams are gradually supplanted by the realities of growing up. A poetic film about the end of childhood. Winner of the Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX.