In the industrialized influencer market of 2010s China, three millennials hope to make it big in cyberspace, seeking fame, fortune, and affirmation in a sphere where popularity is everything and success is the only option.
A karaoke singer, a migrant worker, and a comedian hedge their bets in the unforgiving landscape of livestreaming where viewers spend hard-earned cash to buy votes for their favourite streamers, securing their place in make or break competitions.
Hao Wu's compelling and bleak documentary, People's Republic of Desire (2018), portrays so-called ‘real life’ and the internet as one in the same, each a facet of one another and existing in an uneasy alliance where one always has the potential to win out.
Find us downstairs at Dalston Superstore for a look at the cost of fame and fortune in the cyber age.
Thank you all for being here. It makes this virtual world seem less fake
Subtitles will be displayed throughout the film.
Seating is a mixture of benches, backed chairs, bar stools, and floor space, and is first come, first served.