It has been confirmed the documentary will be released on the 14th January.
MTV Documentary Films has announced that it will be releasing Oscar shortlisted documentary Ascension in UK cinemas on the 14th January.
Directed, edited and shot by US based Chinese-American filmmaker Jessica Kingdon, the film explores the pursuit of wealth and the paradox of progress in modern China and what living the so-called “Chinese Dream” looks like today.
Ascension is an impressionistic portrait of China’s industrial supply chain that reveals the country’s growing class divide through staggering observations of labour, consumerism and wealth. The documentary portrays capitalism in China across the levels of its operation, from the crudest mine to the most rarefied forms of leisure. Accordingly, the film is structured in three parts, ascending through the levels of the capitalist structure: workers running factory production, the middle class training for and selling to aspirational consumers, and the elites revelling in a new level of hedonistic enjoyment. In traveling up the rungs of China’s social ladder, we see how each level supports and makes possible the next while recognizing the contemporary “Chinese Dream” remains an elusive fantasy for most.
The film has been nominated for five Cinema Eye Honors including Best Documentary, Best Director, Outstanding Debut, Best Cinematography & Best Score. It was also nominated for Best Documentary by the Independent Spirit Awards, Producers Guild of America, Gotham Awards and Critics Choice Awards. The film is also up for Best Cinematography by the IDA Documentary Awards.
Ascension premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier in the year where it won Best Documentary.
As well as being directed, edited and shot by Jessica Kingdon, Ascension is produced by Kira Simon-Kennedy, Jessica Kingdon, Nathan Truesdell. Exec Producers include David and Natasha Dolby, Ryan Kampe, Kathryn Everett, Bryn Mooser, Tony Hsieh and Sheila Nevins.
Ascension will be released in UK cinemas on the 14th January.