'1428' tells Sichuan quake survivors' stories

By Cherise Fong, for CNN

November 28, 2009 12:00 a.m. EST

By Cherise Fong, for CNN

November 28, 2009 12:00 a.m. EST

Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- It was at 2:28 p.m. on May 12, 2008, when a devastating earthquake shattered the villages of China's Sichuan province, leaving 69,000 people dead and 15 million displaced.

Little more than a year after the quake, Du Haibin's film "1428" won the Orizzonti prize for Best Documentary at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.

Without judgment but with a deep compassion for their subjects, the filmmakers of "1428" bring us a myriad of individual stories of absurdity, confusion and grief.

Mary Stephen, a Hong Kong native best known for collaborating with French New Wave director Eric Rohmer as film editor and composer, worked closely with Du Haibin on editing "1428." Their 160-minute director's cut will premiere at the Hong Kong Asian Independent Film Festival on November 29, 2009.

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