BEIJING TAXI IN THE NEWS....

Beijng Doc - A Report on Nonfiction Filmmaking in China - Documentary Magazine (Spring 2008)
Read the article online: http://www.documentary.org/content/beijing-doc

Olympic Face Lift Affects Beijing Taxi Drivers
watch the video: http://english.ntdtv.com/?c=145&a=2101

Trios, Trials and Taxis: Tribeca to a T - April 29, 2008
http://www.cinemawithoutborders.com/news/143/ARTICLE/1567/2008-04-29.html

"Beijing Taxi" film shows drivers' Olympic struggle - Reuters - February 28, 2008
read the full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUST34455220080228
Beijing has been working hard to clean up its image for the Olympics -- and in the eyes of one documentary filmmaker, its estimated 100,000 taxi drivers are suffering in the process.

Miao Wang, the director of "Beijing Taxi", followed the ups and downs of a group of taxi drivers since 2006 and captured not only the transformation of Beijing as it rushes towards modernity, but also the effect this has had on their lives.

"The project really kind of revolves around looking at the personal lives of three characters, who are taxi drivers, and through that show the changes going on in Beijing. And that whole project is framed around the Olympics," Miao said.

Beijing's taxi drivers, who will be the first to welcome foreign visitors arriving in Beijing for the Games, are having to adapt to new cars and higher prices.

Bai Jiwen, who features in the film and has been working as a taxi driver for 16 years, appreciates the comfort of the new cars but feels higher fares and improved public transport have taken a heavy toll on drivers... read more

DocStock Interview with Miao Wang on Plum TV
http://watch.plumtv.com/videos/docstock_episode_10_rachel_fleisher_john_corey_miao_wang

That's Beijing - December 26, 2007
There is, as always, a buzz of activity in the Chinese indie movie scene (thanks largely to independent cinemas), but it’s still difficult for smaller-scale films to reach mainstream multiplexes – we’d like to see less of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, please.

Case in point: Miao Wang’s feature-length documentary Beijing Taxi, produced by Three Waters Productions, has been screened at various private cinemas in the US, but not in China. The film traces a city modernizing at exceptional pace through the eyes of taxi drivers. Cinematographer Ian Vollmer finds inspiration in Raymond Chandler and film noir, and here his lens captures the working lives and opinions of three taxi drivers in all their glory and monotony. Taxi drivers, whether grumpy or happy, became the muse for Miao Wang, thanks to their informed opinions and banter about life. Miao continues to add new material, and the film will take footage from 2006 to 2009 – before, during, and after the Olympic Games. Miao and Vollmer will follow the drivers as they ferry around China’s foreign guests...