In this episode we talk with Jiang Nengjie, a Chinese filmmaker whose work includes four documentaries about the millions of children left-behind in villages by their parents seeking employment in China’s sprawling cities. When he was a child, Jiang Nengjie’s parents left him behind in their Hunan village when they went to find work in Guangdong province. Now, he’s a filmmaker who’s made four documentaries about left-behind children. Unaccustomed to the fast pace of city life, Jiang, 32, lives in his home town and splits his time between making films and taking care of three village libraries he established in the county for left-behind children.

Hi and welcome, you’re listening to Trustees Without Borders, a podcast production of the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance. I’m your host Andy Morikawa andymorikawa@vt.edu at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Today’s program features Jiang Nengjie. Jiang Nengjie was a member of China’s first generation left behind by parents looking for work in cities. He is a Hunan-based documentary film maker. His documentaries include frank and revealing aspects of life in China. Of his work he says, “Making documentaries is my way of pursuing freedom of expression. But it’s not worth being imprisoned because of your work.”

Joining me are the interviewers for today’s show Neda Moayerian, Kim Felix kfelix@vt.edu, and Yezi Yang yezi@vt.edu

In our interview with Jiang Nengjie, since he is more comfortable speaking in Mandarin, Yezi Yang will serve as our interpreter.