The policy was implemented due to fears that overpopulation would damage China’s economy and society, and as such, any who went against this policy were severely punished.

The policy reached its goal; China’s birth rate was drastically reduced, but it also came with unintended consequences – not only on a national scale, but also on an individual and familial one.

China finally scrapped the policy in 2015, after seeing how it had led to a gender imbalance, an ageing population and a declining workforce.

Despite current efforts to boost population growth, it is clear that the one-child policy has had long-reaching consequences on Chinese society.

In his documentary “Four Journeys”, Louis Yi Liu, a Chinese-born filmmaker who currently resides in the Netherlands, talks about the heavy punishments his family suffered at the hands of the government as a consequence of his birth during the one-child policy.

The documentary follows Yi upon his return to China after years spent abroad and away from his family. While cordial towards him, there was obvious tension as he was still regarded as the “black child”, the offspring that was not meant to be.

During the course of exploring his family’s past, Yi discovers why his family members are as dysfunctional as they are, with generational trauma having affected everyone.

Yi’s father subconsciously blamed him for ruining his chances at a political career due to the stigma of having had a second child. His mother meanwhile was reluctant to admit that she regarded Yi as a proxy for his elder brother, who died at the age of two.

And Yi’s sister, the golden child of the family, harboured deep envy of him for having been granted more freedom than she ever had.

Quite ironically, Yi himself had to admit he was jealous of his sister for receiving all the love and attention that he so craved from his parents.

The documentary details how China’s one-child policy inadvertently left Yi’s family fractured, with each family member reluctant to face their own demons.

Over the course of the film though, through confrontations and revelations, the Yi family slowly opens up to each other and the camera.

By the time the film draws to a close, members of the Yi family are in a much better place than they were at the beginning of Yi’s visit.

Given the Chinese government’s propensity for reacting negatively to any criticism of its policies, the documentary was careful not to point fingers at the authorities for the personal trauma Yi’s family suffered.

Speaking to FMT, “Four Journeys” producer Pieter van de Huystee said: “We had to be careful with how the film framed some issues. Some things simply had to be left unsaid, in order to ensure Yi’s family would not get into any lasting trouble for his work.”

The producer said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, Yi’s father fell ill and his family asked Yi to return to China. He hurried back, only to be held in quarantine for four weeks, during which time his father passed away. Yi was unable to attend the funeral.

The documentary is unsettling, with the only consolation being that Yi and his father did resolve their differences before it was too late.

“Four Journeys” was showcased at Freedom Film Festival 2022 at the PJ Live Arts Theatre, which opened on Sept 9 and ends today.

Some 34 socially-themed films were screened, several of which showcased Malaysians, focussing on contemporary issues in local society that require remedy.

Among these was Amirul Ramthan’s “Fafa: Perjuangan yang Tak Didendang”, a film about the hardships faced by the mentally ill in Malaysia.

Another local entry was “Rasa dan Asa”, about the often-poor working conditions faced by Indonesian maids in Malaysia.

In addition to these, some 22 films from foreign filmmakers were also showcased, mostly focusing on the hardships brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.