Film that shows plight of ‘left-behind’ children in China earns plaudits
- The documentary Tough Out follows the efforts of a group of boys as they learn baseball in Beijing and form a team that takes on the United States
- Their struggles highlight the plight of the millions of children left orphaned or whose parents leave them in the countryside as they toil in cities
The battle being fought by some of China’s “left-behind” children to build a better future is at the heart of a new documentary that has won plaudits for its inspiring story.
The documentary – Tough Out – follows the efforts of a group of seven- to 12-year-olds who are swinging for a better life via the sport of baseball. The group’s efforts are aided by former baseball star Sun Lingfeng.
Directed by young filmmaker Xu Huijing, Tough Out was released last week. The production has already won recognition, being named the best documentary in this year’s First International Film Festival – a national platform for emerging filmmakers.
The film focuses on a small group of boys as a way to highlight the plight of the seven million children in China left behind in rural communities by their parents, who work in far-off cities.
Officially “left-behind” children have, since 2016, been defined as those under 16 whose parents have both moved away for work, or have one parent absent but the other is unable to care for them. Some members of the baseball team have it even tougher, with their parents dead, missing or in prison.
