First film, first award.  Jeremy and Jesse Ververka, two brothers who produced and directed "China: The Rebirth of an Empire", won the FAN award for best documentary at the first annual Astoria-Long Island City Film Festival last week.  The festival, which ran from Oct 22-24th, had a successful launch.  Film lovers turned out to see documentaries, feature films, short films, and super short films.  There were also script readings and panel discussions by directors of various films.

Both Jeremy and Jesse are graduates of Cornell University.  Jesse did his graduate studies in Engineering with an emphasis on China and its relations in the Far East. Jeremy graduated in May 2009 with a B.A. in English.  They utilized their love for traveling which took them to the Far East in several trips before deciding to work on a film on China in 2008, shortly before the debut of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Jeremy used his passion with music, he played in a band, while growing up, and scored the music.  Jesse, who lives most of the year in Japan, used his knowledge of the Far East to help give the film a base.  Jesse also did an effective voice narration on the documentary.

The focus of the film is to highlight the vast political might of an emerging China as a world power.  China impacts its neighbors in the Far East in a direct way.  Some of the

conflicts are notable.  China with the dissenters in Tibet, and human rights activists protesting the brutal torture by the Chinese on practitioners of Falon Gong, a spiritual practice that promotes Compassion and Tolerance.  People have died of torture and suffered disfigurement by Chinese authorities in recent years.

Not as well known are the Uyghurs, who are a Muslim community in Western China.

The Ververkas traveled to an area formerly known as Turkestan and interviewed local inhabitants.  Some farmers lived near a cement factory and this affected their ability

to harvest a crop.  In fact, while filming there, several people's faces were blocked out and their voices distorted for fear of reprisal by the Chinese.  The Veverkas' noted that a translator told people not to speak up because of "the policy", meaning Chinese policy.

The filmmakers spent about 3 months on location and returned and found that they needed experts to explain certain trends and events.  So, using their rolodex they contacted Chalmers Johnson, an author on the Far East, who consented to be interviewed for the film.  Johnson was used effectively to explain the narrative. Rebiya Kadeer, President of the Uyghur American Association was a passionate voice on behalf of the Uyghurs who have lived for years in relative obscurity. Sino-Japanese relations were also pointed out.  Japan and China have at times an adversarial relationship.  The fact that Japan slaughtered millions of Chinese during World War II has been a smoldering issue between both nations.

The Ververkas traveled to Nepal and shot footage of the Himalayas near Kathmandu.  "If you go there the view is spectacular," adds Jeremy.  "It's just amazing." Filming took place off the beaten track in China and its neighbors.  "We tried to go to the rural areas that people weren't as familiar with," said Jeremy.  You also saw the panoramic skyline of Hong Kong. The Veverkas spent roughly $50,000 on making their film.  They raised half of the money getting small donations from a lot of supporters, including Cornell University. Their film shows one the beauty of the Great Wall of China and the beatings suffered by followers of Falon Gong.