Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Film screening and discussion with the Filmmaker David Borenstein.

Yana’s company uses actors to turn remote Chinese ghost towns into temporary “international booming cities,” tricking visitors into buying overpriced property. But when the real estate market starts to collapse, she faces financial ruin. Released in 2016, Dream Empire is a boom to bust tale set in China’s building boom.

In 2017, Dream Empire has been Europe’s most widely screened documentary set in China. The film has been supported with funding from the Danish Film Institute, Sundance Foundation, and many broadcasters. Dream Empire has found wide audiences via film festivals and distribution through dozens of global TV stations. It’s festival premiere was at IDFA in Amsterdam, the world’s largest and most prestigious documentary film festival. It would do on to receive multiple awards and nominations, including the prestigious Golden Alexander award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, one of Europe’s largest documentary festivals.