Chasing Dreams from Africa to China: ‘Guangzhou Dream Factory’

Guangzhou Dream Factory film discussion (participants watch the film on their own) with filmmakers Christiane Badgley and Erica Markus. Watch a film trailer here: https://vimeo.com/197863673

Featuring a dynamic cast of men and women from Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, Guangzhou Dream Factory is a provocative story of immigration, globalization, and the pursuit of “Made in China” African dreams.

Immigration, globalization, Chinese factories, and African dreams … Guangzhou Dream Factory weaves stories of Africans chasing alluring, yet elusive, “Made in China” dreams into a provocative critique of 21st-century global capitalism.
Guangzhou, a.k.a. Canton, is southern China’s booming commercial center. A mecca of mass consumption, the city’s vast international trading centers attract more than half a million Africans each year. Most are doing business – in China to buy goods they’ll sell back in Africa. But some choose to stay, and for these Africans, China looks like the new land of opportunity, a place where anything is possible. But is it?

Discussants: Tristan Ivory, Assistant Professor at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR); Tao Leigh Goffe, Assistant Professor at Africana Studies and Research Center and Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

This event is hosted by the East Asia Program Graduate Student Steering Committee (GSSC). Kun Huang, a Ph.D. candidate in Comparative Literature, and GSSC officer will moderate.

How to view the film:

Cornell students, faculty, and staff and those with library access to Kanopy may view the film here: https://cornell.kanopy.com/video/guangzhou-dream-factory.

A time-limited screening link will be made available one week in advance to other community members who have registered for the event.

All participants need to register to receive the Zoom link for the discussion with the filmmakers.

Register in advance for this meeting: https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqde2qrzIjHNHf41LCGmbsGM1oR1UW-XfC

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.