Guangzhou Dream Factory

The African Community in Guangzhou, China

Immigration, globalization, Chinese factories and African dreams...This documentary weaves stories of Africans chasing alluring, yet elusive, "Made in China" dreams into a compelling critique of 21st century global capitalism.

Guangzhou, a.k.a. Canton, is southern China's centuries-old trading port. Today it's a booming metropolis - the Mecca of mass consumption - attracting more than half a million African traders each year. Over time, some of these Africans have chosen to stay, and to them China looks like the new land of opportunity, a place where anything is possible. But is it?

GUANGZHOU DREAM FACTORY, following a filmmaker's journey from Ghana to China and back to Africa, gives viewers a rare glimpse of African aspirations while also providing fresh, new perspectives on China and African economic development.

"While the news is full of stories of boatloads of African migrants desperate to cross into Europe, Guangzhou Dream Factory gives us the stories of Africans who believe China is 'the new land of opportunity'. Visually rich, sympathetically told, this compelling film sensitively captures the hopes, disappointments, and creativity of Africans whose dreams are unfolding, for better or worse, in the Middle Kingdom". -Deborah Brautigam, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

"Guangzhou Dream Factory offers an accessible, yet nuanced and complex, view into the dynamic lives of entrepreneurial Africans living in China. The insightful narrative and the great selection of subjects make this film a uniquely engaging portrayal of ongoing global transformations. A must-see documentary dispelling outdated stereotypes of hopeless and helpless Africans." -Roberto Castillo, The University of Hong Kong