Ascension / Film School Radio interview with Director Jessica Kingdon & Producer Kira Simon-Kennedy

Mesmerizing in its imagery and shot in 51 locations across the country, ASCENSION is a cinematic exploration of China’s industrial supply chain that reveals the country’s growing class divide through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. The film ascends through the levels of the capitalist structure: workers running factory production, the middle class selling to aspirational consumers, and the elites reveling in a new level of hedonistic enjoyment. In traveling up the rungs of China’s social ladder, we see how each level supports and makes possible the next while recognizing the contemporary ‘Chinese Dream’ remains an elusive fantasy for most. Producer Kira Simon-Kennedy and director / cinematographer / editor Jessica Kingdon joins us for a conversation on their collaboration and how a century old poem written by her Great Grandfather, Zheng Ze inspired her to make her illuminating and horrifying film about the massive industrialization of the world’s largest industrial power. For news and updates go to: ascensiondocumentary.com MTV Documentary Films and XTR present the theatrical release of ASCENSION opening on LA October 8th at the Laemmle Monica and Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena.