Abstract
After reform and opening-up policy has been implemented in China since 1980s, more and more actors have participated in the field of film production, especially non-governmental organizations(NGOs) and youth. This study focuses on the phenomenon of “youth filming documentary,” which explores how “youth” and “film” are constructed. Who mobilizes youth into the field of film production? How do state, NGOs, and youth imagine and practice in “youth filming documentary” project? How is the process of the “youth filming documentary” project? Based on the theory of individualization in Chinese society, this study takes the “youth filming documentary” project as examples to discuss the change in state’s governance and youth’s responds to social change. In this study, two “youth filming documentary” projects were taken as case studies. The research methods were mainly based on in-depth interview and textual analysis. Two kinds of semi-constructed interview outlines were designed for two groups of interviewees respectively, one interview outline for four NGO staff members and the other for eight youth participators in the “youth filming documentary” program. This study found that: (1) The emergence of “youth filming documentary” projects results from the demand for new social community from youth, the promotion of new values by NGOs, as well as the change of the governance means by the state; (2) With two cases categorized into two types, the differences of interactions between NGOs and youth are manifest, and so is the relationship between NGOs and the state.