Sir Ian McKellen reads the poetry, Michael Wood traces the journey on the ground. Together they conjure up the extraordinary life, times and words of China’s greatest poet, Du Fu. In this film, the first to ever be made about Du Fu in the west, Michael follows his tracks by road, train and riverboat. Along the way, he meets ordinary people, dancers and musicians, who help to tell the amazing story of a poet whose words have resonated through the centuries, describing the experiences of ordinary people caught up in war, corruption, famine and natural disasters. "I am one of the privileged. If my life is so bitter, then how much worse is the life of the common people?"

Michael Wood

Ian McKellen

Love Factory: The Price of Being a Social Media Star
Love Factory: The Price of Being a Social Media Star

Trudell
Trudell

Undercover in Tibet
Undercover in Tibet

Visions Cinema: Film as a Way of Life: Hong Kong Cinema - A Report by Tony Rayns
Visions Cinema: Film as a Way of Life: Hong Kong Cinema - A Report by Tony Rayns

Souvenirs d'un singe doré
Souvenirs d'un singe doré

Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang
Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang

D'une rive à l'autre
D'une rive à l'autre

Wisdom of Changes - Richard Wilhelm and the I Ching
Wisdom of Changes - Richard Wilhelm and the I Ching

The Shaolin Kid: A Boy In China
The Shaolin Kid: A Boy In China

Mysteries of Ancient China
Mysteries of Ancient China

Forbidden City: The Great Within
Forbidden City: The Great Within
Kampf um Tibet
Kampf um Tibet