Out of Focus

In the summer of 2012, filmmaker Shengze Zhu volunteered to organize a photo workshop at an elementary school in her hometown, Wuhan. The class consisted of about 20 children aged 8 to 12, who had moved from rural areas to the largest city in central China when their parents sought odd jobs at factories, construction sites, and restaurants within the city. Smartphones were not as widespread and affordable in China as they are today, and for many of the participants it was their very first time using a camera. Out of Focus challenges the conventional portrayal of migrant children, empowering them through cameras and incorporating their photos into the film. Through revealing the inner thoughts of the children and how they contended with urban life, the film creates a raw yet intimate sketch of a distressed neighborhood in rapidly urbanizing China.