Tianjin Driver

Director: Sara Doering (Germany) Producer: Cheng Aonan

Tianjin Driver explores the city of Tianjin through the eyes of a female cab driver. As she speaks about her daily work, we partook in a variety of scenes unfolding in Tianjin from a quiet morning by the Haihe River to the bustling central business district, from the traditional craftsman in Tianjin’s Ancient Culture Street to a residential neighborhood where people enjoy street barbecue at the end of the day. Questions are pondered: how does a woman experience the work of a cab driver? Is the experience in Chinese culture different from Western culture, where driving a cab is still “a man’s job”? What does that mean to drive in a modern metropolis without GPS? How do people in China relate to their work? Through exploring these themes, Tianjin Driver is as much the portrait of a person, as it is a portrait of the city.