East Wind

In Cao Fei’s most recent video work, East Wind (2011), a dinky blue Chinese truck with the face of Thomas the Tank Engine beetles around the streets of a Chinese city to the theme tune of the BBC program. The truck stops for petrol, attracting a crowd of delighted fans. It collects rubbish from a demolition site and then merrily takes this to a dump on the outskirts of town (the driver stopping for a pee by the side of the road on the way). With a sense of joyful conquest, the bright smiling face of Thomas charges through the changing Chinese landscape, announcing the triumph of simplicity at every turn.

Documentary

East Wind

Crew arrow_drop_down

arrow_drop_down

Recomendation Films

  • Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
  • Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
  • Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
  • Above Majestic
  • Heart of a Dog
  • Naqoyqatsi
  • Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
  • Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora
  • Directed by John Ford
  • McQueen
  • Finders Keepers
  • Extremis
  • American Pie: Revealed
  • Wormwood
  • Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me
  • I Am Heath Ledger
  • In the Realms of the Unreal
  • Public Speaking
  • Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

NextFilm 2026