Raw China T H E N AT I O N | F E A T U R E
Meet the Spanish Filmmaker Capturing China in a New Way By Lars James Hamer
“They actually wanted me to marry this woman. They were really taking it seriously”
10 |AUGUST 2021 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM
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his is just one of the hundreds of situations that Spanish filmmaker Luis Castro reflects on during his time documenting Chinese people and culture. China is a country with a rich history, comprising people from many different walks of life and share a plethora of customs, conventions and cultural norms. Castro set out on a mission to capture the lesser observed parts of China through the lens. For his first project, he shot and edited one-minute videos every day for a year. These short clips would eventually become 354 , a feature-length
documentary-style film that shows Chinese culture in a raw form. Spending a full year away from his home in Beijing to travel every corner of the Middle Kingdom, Castro not only touched upon little-known communities in China but also began a journey to produce two more films that highlight ancient Chinese cultures and customs. A few days before he left the capital city again to explore ancient villages in Guizhou for his new film King Bull , we talked with Castro about the sights he witnessed on his journey for 354 .
