Winner of over twenty-one domestic and international awards and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, Mardi Gras: Made In China is a very powerful film that makes the unlikely connection between Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the factory workers of China.

Beads are the ubiquitous symbol of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where thousands of the cheap plastic trinkets are tossed, shared and worn by revelers who collect them as trophies in a night of wild partying. But where do these trinket treasures come from and who actually makes them?

In this sly and engrossing documentary, filmmaker David Redmon follows the "bead trail" to the Tai Kuen factory in the Fuzhou province of China where young teenagers work long hours for low pay in prison-like compounds far from their homes. Redmon obtained remarkable and rare footage in China, resulting in stunning contrasts between the young party-goers of Carnival in New Orleans and the even younger factory workers in Tai Kuen. The film gives an up-close and personal view of the realities of globalization and offers an illuminating and thought-provoking juxtaposition of cultures and values.

As a personal friend of the filmmaker with unique insight into the making of the film, Doug Going introduces the film and conducts a perceptive post-screening Q&A/discussion further exploring the issues raised in the film.

To schedule a showing for your organization, please contact me.