Mardi Gras: Made in China

Nowadays, China follows the path of the free market economy and many Western factories are set up there. That wouldn't be an exciting topic if the author did not visualise the hidden dark sides of the process of globalisation connecting East and West. This film offers us a close look into the everyday life and psychology of people working in Mardi Gras, the biggest bead factory in the world. We follow three of the many Chinese teenagers who have to work between ten and fifteen hours a day for about $60. Their speed at work is so incredible that the filmmaker had to give us slow-motion shots in order to show their technique properly. The punishment for every small mistake is severe and merciless, the working schedule is a rigid drill and living conditions are quite austere. What happens to the dreams of these young Chinese employees? Counter-pointing the Chinese side with the consumers of the same beads, New Orleans Mardi Gras revelers who reveal their breasts in order to get bead chains, the filmmaker does a wonderful job personalising the process of globalisation.