WIND ABOVE, EARTH BELOW

China has produced much of the world’s great art and inventions, but few in the West know the Chinese kite.  These stunning kinetic sculptures are structurally ingenious and artistically rich, with profound cultural and symbolic meaning.  Chinese kites have been used as tools of warfare, to scare ghosts, wish for a child and honor the dead.  The Chinese kite is more than a toy.  It is a window into the lives and souls of a people.

Kites mirror the hopes and dreams of the people who make them: ancient Maori bird-man kites were sacred links to the gods; Guatemala's kites, brilliant as stained glass windows, transport souls to heaven; America's kite designs grew out of early aviation experiments.

The kites of China – dragons, birds, fish and insects; warriors and goddesses; musical kites and fighting kites – describe an ancient and intricate culture.

Wind Above, Earth Below will be the first comprehensive documentary about the Chinese kite. Focusing on China’s last great living kitemakers, the film will be a 60–minute mosaic of documentary footage, traditional stories and poetic animation.