THE SILK ROAD FROM PAMIRS TO CHINA

The series We, Travelling People features Angelos Tsaousis, bi'bak's fellow from START – Create Cultural Change Program 2018 for a screening of his documentary film The New Plastic Road about the new Silk Road. Together with Sofia Stavrianidou from Hellas Filmbox Berlin we will discuss about the development of the Silk Road and Tsaousis' film. Fingerfood specialities from Tajikistan will be served. 

The New Plastic Road reveals the gradual economic and social change underway in the remote, destitute communities within the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region east of Tajikistan in the Pamir Mountains. After China’s decision to open its border with Tajikistan in 2004, an ongoing attempt to resurrect the old Silk Road started, connecting the region with the rest of the world for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union. To make these changes visible, the documentary follows Davlat, a Tajik merchant who lives in the mountainous town of Khorog next to the Afghanistan border. As we are drawn into his world of work, family, and trade we come to understand that the (silk) road on which he depends to make a living is a unique character in itself, connecting him – and us – with people, stories, and a new hope for posterity.

Angelos Tsaousis is a documentary filmmaker from Thessaloniki. In 2017, he was a START fellow at bi'bak in Berlin. With a postgraduate degree in Communication Studies and a specialisation in documentary filmmaking, his main objective is to explore the potential of using documentary form as a social impact and educational tool. He is the founder of DocRepublic – a documentary hub inspiring digital storytellers and public dialogue.