KARAMAY (KE LA MA YI) World Cinema

In 1994 in the Chinese city of Karamy, a performance for visiting officials was underway when a fire broke out. Over 700 people were in Friendship Hall when the flames began and more than 300 souls never escaped. While. all of the government officials survived, nearly all of the victims were young school children, many of whom were told to wait for the dignitaries to evacuate before they could leave KARAMAY is a powerful work of nonfiction and a damning indictment of the Chinese government’s actions. But more than a criticism of a single regime, the film questions any social system that insists that those in power always know best. Above all, this film offers a heartfelt examination of profound grief. Finding themselves with nothing to lose, the mourning parents begin to openly criticize not only the government but also the very psychology of a society that teaches its children to always obey