Can Sound Be Currency?

In the Sichuan mountains, a bird hunter recounts regional myths about the conflict between humans and gods that unfolds through their respective feigning of animality and humanity. These myths function as the subversive lens through which the film examines state imperialism’s impact on this contested territory’s cultural and economic practices, such as contriving bird gatherings for tourists to earn a living and being forced to make traditional flutes with scrap plastic instead of eagle bone. The film discerns in these tales the potential of shanzhai (counterfeit) to destabilize the power imbalance between ethnic minorities and the state.
(Source: SGIFF)