J.P. Sniadecki is a young nonfiction filmmaker completing his doctorate degree in Harvard’s Social Anthropology department whose films shot in China have already drawn international attention. Most notably, his hour-long documentary Demolition was included in last year’s Viennale and just won the Joris Ivens Award at Paris’ prestigious documentary film festival Cinéma du réel.

Chaiqian focuses primarily upon a vast demolition site in the center of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in western China, a bustling site emblematic of the many urban centers in China undergoing rapid and radical transformation. A remarkable combination of rigorous, structured aesthetics—making especially notable use of the long take—and a richly human look at migrant labor and social dynamics in flux,  Chaiqian follows the site’s laborers at work and rest, occasionally overhearing the workers speak to each other about being filmed and joking with the “man from Harvard” behind the camera. Eventually the film branches out to follow a group of men who wander off to discover the city by night.

The Songhua River runs through Harbin in northeastern China and serves as the city's main water source. By attending to the everyday activities of leisure and labor unfolding along the banks and promenade, Songhua depicts the intimate and complex relationship between Harbin city residents and their “mother river.” Sniadecki’s extended long takes observe everyday behavior balanced between tradition and a rapidly changing present, even as the film itself, with its balance of carefully composed shots and handheld footage, explores the interface between art and ethnography.