Sameer Farooq, Ursula Engel

The Silk Road of Pop

Director: Sameer Farooq, Ursula Engel

Production: 2015, Uyghur and Mandarin Chinese with English & Dari subtitle, 53 min, Canada

Camera: Ursula Engel/Editor: Oliver Husain/Script Writer: Sameer Farooq, Ursula Engel, Stijn Deklerck

 

Synopsis: On the distant northwest edge of China, cradled in the heart of central Asia, lies Xinjiang, a region of snow-capped mountains, barren deserts and gritty market cities. Here, along the ancient Silk Road, music is one of the hottest commodities of the moment: it is vibrant, infectious and far-reaching, permeating every corner of the vast province. Yet, around the music lies a troubling reality. Engaged in an identity tug-of-war, the region’s main population – the Uyghur Muslims – are gradually watching their numbers dwindle as they are engulfed by a predominant Han Chinese settlement.One of the very few documentaries to come out of Xinjiang, ‘The Silk Road of Pop’ captures the challenges of a minority group in China and the explosive music scene which results.’The Silk Road of Pop’ tells the story of Ay, a young music fan, as she takes the viewer on a tour of the underground music scene in Xinjiang. Spontaneous and reflective, Ay pulls the viewer into her daily life and gradually shares the challenges she faces of being a young Uyghur Muslim woman in China. Doubtful about her own life choices and curious about the world beyond Xinjiang’s borders, she turns to music for answers and is drawn to young musicians who mirror her struggles in their songs. The film follows the trails left by Ay’s interest in music, documenting her influences and portraying her musical idols. A breathtaking journey unfolds, leading to traditional musicians uncovering the age-old roots of the Uyghur music culture in Kashgar, metal bands combining local folk music & Western hard rock in their wild performances, and hip-hop crews honing their skills in the smoky basements of communist block towers.Featuring an entrancing compilation of songs and video-clips, ‘The Silk Road of Pop’ taps into the rhythmical zeitgeist of what it means to be young and Uyghur in China, showing how music becomes a liberating element for a minority trying to assert its identity within a repressive environment.

Director’s Biography: Sameer Farooq’s interdisciplinary practice includes documentary films, publications, photography and installation projects. His work centres around the creation of speculative archives and how various tactics of documentation can affect the construction of history. Sameer’s documentary and visual arts works have been exhibited in Canada, U.S., Turkey, China, Egypt, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, U.K., Serbia & Montenegro, the Netherlands, and Belgium. He has been the recipient of a President’s Scholarship at the Rhode Island School of Design, and has been awarded several grants from the Canada Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and the Europe Media Fund. Sameer studied at McGill University (CAN), the Gerrit Rietveld Academy (NL), and completed his MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design (US).