Wired Video

We examine the unique manufacturing ecosystem that has emerged, gaining access to the world’s leading hardware-prototyping culture whilst challenging misconceptions from the west. The film looks at how the evolution of “Shanzhai” – or copycat manufacturing – has transformed traditional models of business, distribution and innovation, and asks what the rest of the world can learn from this so-called “Silicon Valley of hardware".

The World Gurning Contest takes place annually in Egremont in North West of England, and to the best of anybodys knowledge has done so ever since 1267. This film captures the tensions and the euphoria surrounding this sublimely daft event – the art of pulling the ugliest face.