Crude Oil (film)
Encyclopedia
Crude Oil is a 2008 Chinese
documentary film
directed by Wang Bing
. Filmed in the Inner Mongolia
n portion of the Gobi Desert
, it follows a group of oil field
workers as they go about their daily routine.
Like Wang's debut feature — the nine-hour Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
— Crude Oil is notable for its extreme length, running 840 minutes (14 hours). The original plan called for a 70-hour film, but Wang felt compelled to exert additional editorial control and reduced the work to its present length. The director himself came down with severe altitude sickness
and left the location three days into the one-week shoot; his crew completed the remainder without him.
Crude Oil premiered (in a video installation
setting) at the 2008 International Film Festival Rotterdam
, where it received a "Special Mention" for "its dispassionate expose of the hardship of human labour which is the basis of economic progress." The project was commissioned by the IFFR, with additional support from the Hubert Bals Fund. It had its Asia
n premiere at the 2008 Hong Kong International Film Festival
. Its North American premiere was at The Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2009, with screenings held in Gallery 6 at the Hammer Museum.
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Wang Bing
Wang Bing (director)
Wang Bing is a Chinese director, often referred to as one of the foremost figures in documentary film-making. Wang is the founder of his own production company, Wang Bing Studios, which produces most of his films...
. Filmed in the Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
n portion of the Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
, it follows a group of oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
workers as they go about their daily routine.
Like Wang's debut feature — the nine-hour Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks is a Chinese documentary film by Wang Bing. Over 9 hours long, the film consists of three parts, "Rust," "Remnants" and "Rails."...
— Crude Oil is notable for its extreme length, running 840 minutes (14 hours). The original plan called for a 70-hour film, but Wang felt compelled to exert additional editorial control and reduced the work to its present length. The director himself came down with severe altitude sickness
Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness—also known as acute mountain sickness , altitude illness, hypobaropathy, or soroche—is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude...
and left the location three days into the one-week shoot; his crew completed the remainder without him.
Crude Oil premiered (in a video installation
Video installation
Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has increased in popularity as digital video production...
setting) at the 2008 International Film Festival Rotterdam
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
, where it received a "Special Mention" for "its dispassionate expose of the hardship of human labour which is the basis of economic progress." The project was commissioned by the IFFR, with additional support from the Hubert Bals Fund. It had its Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n premiere at the 2008 Hong Kong International Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch and experience new film work. There are seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and parties celebrating the festival community...
. Its North American premiere was at The Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2009, with screenings held in Gallery 6 at the Hammer Museum.
External links
- Crude Oil at the International Film Festival RotterdamInternational Film Festival RotterdamThe International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
- Crude Oil at the Hong Kong International Film FestivalHong Kong International Film FestivalThe Hong Kong International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch and experience new film work. There are seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and parties celebrating the festival community...
- DISPATCH FROM ROTTERDAM | Adventures at the IFFR: "Oil," "Right One," "Jamil," and CineMart (indieWIREIndieWireindieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
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