People’s Republic of Desire
In popular virtual showrooms, China’s super rich and dirt poor band together to worship their favorite online stars. In this digital universe where everything seems possible, a karaoke singer, a poor migrant worker, and a comedian seek fame, fortune, and human connection, ultimately finding the same promises and perils online as in real life.
Series
Premiere Date
February 25, 2019
Length
90 minutes
Funding Type
Awards & Recognition
Winner
2018 South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) - Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award
Nominee
2018 International Documentary Association (IDA) - Best Writing
A generation of young Chinese have come of age on social media, where virtual relationships are replacing real-life human connections. Online showrooms are the most popular gathering place for hundreds of millions—attracting China’s super rich (who lavish virtual gifts on their favorite performers) and the poor, many of them migrant workers in urban areas searching for cheap entertainment and a way to feel connected. These two groups never cross paths in real life, yet in the digital universe they band together to worship online idols who earn as much as $130,000 a month singing karaoke or doing talk shows to interactive audiences.