Stretching Out From Shaolin
Director Le Le Wang-Burns
Countries China, Australia, Hong Kong
Duration 79 min
Synopsis
A Buddhist monastery, the Shaolin Temple is most famous for its martial arts. The district around the Temple is now dotted with centres that specialise in teaching Shaolin Kung Fu. ‘Stretching Out from Shaolin” takes us inside the best of these and we meet two of the performers, Qin Guang Cheng and Nie Shi Heng. They are master-practitioners of Shaolin Kung Fu. They tell us in their own words about their journey. We meet their families; see a slice of life in rural China, the struggles and challenges, the celebrations and festivities. We learn about the intense discipline of their training, their overseas experiences, their aspirations for the future. This is a story about how ancient Chinese martial arts traditions passed down through numberless generations can enable young people to climb out of poverty and overcome extraordinary hardship.
A Buddhist monastery, the Shaolin Temple is most famous for its martial arts. The district around the Temple is now dotted with centres that specialise in teaching Shaolin Kung Fu. ‘Stretching Out from Shaolin” takes us inside the best of these and we meet two of the performers, Qin Guang Cheng and Nie Shi Heng. They are master-practitioners of Shaolin Kung Fu. They tell us in their own words about their journey. We meet their families; see a slice of life in rural China, the struggles and challenges, the celebrations and festivities. We learn about the intense discipline of their training, their overseas experiences, their aspirations for the future. This is a story about how ancient Chinese martial arts traditions passed down through numberless generations can enable young people to climb out of poverty and overcome extraordinary hardship.