SUN VILLAGE

Sun Village is the name of a refuge for Chinese children whose parents are serving time in prison. With no one to look after or feed them, Sun Village is a home and place of refuge for the children until their parents are released. Ironically, the woman who launched the project, Zhang Shu Qin, was a Beijing Police Force officer and probably responsible for taking the parents away from their children in the first place. She eventually realized that most of these convicts were leaving behind children who had no relatives or other legal guardians to help. She decided to take things into her own hands and opened Sun Village in 1996, the start of a huge success story that would go on to change the lives of many children. Zhang travelled all over China to bring these children together, giving them what their parents couldn't provide – a home, an education, food and clothes. This documentary follows the lives of these children during their summer holidays and features interviews with children who grew up in the village, and those who are still at home there. It also looks at Zhang's incredible achievements in the past 20 years and her dedication to creating a better future for China.