Commissions

Greenlit: Gok Wan: Made in China, Channel 4

By Nicola Lees ⋅ December 10, 2011 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ ⋅Post a comment

Gok Wan: Made in China (1 x 60′)- China is a manufacturing colossus and Britons are surrounded by products made in China – from cotton bed sheets, to tooth brushes, mobile phones and even London black cabs. The Chinese manage to produce goods cheaply yet they are well made – so just how are they able to produce the enormous volumes of products the UK has become so dependent on?

Gok Wan travels back to his ancestral home to explore the largely unseen world of Chinese mass production, and meets some of the people working in the factories that supply the West.

The label ‘Made in China’ still conjures up images of poor quality or cheap labour, but is that really the case? Gok believes it also represents ingenuity, cutting-edge manufacturing technology and the unparalleled work ethic of the Chinese nation – and is setting out to prove it.

On his travels he visits entire towns dedicated to manufacturing products on a scale that is completely alien to British consumers – including a ‘jeans town’ where hundreds of millions of pairs of high street brand jeans are made every year.

Whilst visiting these extraordinary towns and cities, Gok sees how this modern China sits alongside his own personal story, for he too was ‘Made in China’ and has grown up listening to his father’s stories celebrating his homeland. What does the future hold for this vast country full of contrasts?

Channel: Channel 4

Producer: Plum Pictures

TX: March 2012

Source: Channel 4 Press Office

Nicola Lees (6791 Posts)

I have worked in the media - radio & TV, production and post-production - for more than fifteen years. I have extensive experience as a TV development producer, and have originated, developed, written and pitched proposals for award-winning documentaries, docu-dramas and interactive TV events for a range of UK and US channels, including BBC, Discovery, TLC, Travel Channel and Science Channel. I'm the founder of TVMole.com, a website that provides industry intelligence to help TV professionals and aspiring filmmakers get their programme ideas commissioned. I've written two books for Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury: Give Me the Money and I'll Shoot! Finance Your Factual TV/Film Project (2012) Greenlit: Developing Factual / Reality TV Ideas From Concept to Pitch (2010) I've produced industry panels for Televisual's Intelligent Factual Festival (2010) and am a regular speaker at universities and film festivals (e.g. Sheffield Doc/Fest, Open City Docs Fest, Northern Nights Film Festival, Televisual Intelligent Factual Festival, Broadcast Video Expo). I've served on several film festival juries, including: FD4W International Film Festival, WFTV Awards, Northern Nights Film Festival and TV Collective Film Night at Portobello Film Festival.

Tags: Ch4