Tape Jiao Dai (2010)

With groundbreaking honesty performance artist Li Ning turns his life into art in this epic work of experimental documentary For five grueling years Li Ning documents his struggle to achieve success as an avantgarde artist while contending with the pressures of modern life in China He is caught between two families his wife son and mother whom he can barely support and his enthusiastic but disorganized guerilla dance troupe Lis chaotic life becomes inseparable from the act of taping it as if his experiences can only make sense on screen Tape shatters documentary conventions utilizing a variety of approaches including guerilla documentary experimental street video even CGI Much like Jia Zhangkes Platform Tape captures a decades worth of artistic aspirations and failures while breaking new ground in individual expression in China