During a memorable scene in the documentary High Tech, Low Life, Zhang Shihe is shown meeting with residents in the Er Lou Village in rural China.

The men have requested that the blogger, who is known as Tiger Temple, share the story of severe flooding in their community. He reacts with clear surprise as he films the scene on his small camera: an area once rich in agricultural production now flooded with wastewater.

“We’ve complained hundreds of times, but to the government we’re invisible,” one of the farmers tells filmmaker Stephen Maing. “Mr. Zhang is our greatest hope.”

The blogger is one of two citizen journalists depicted in the film, as they share under-reported stories in a country where government censorship of online activity is prevalent.

Maing’s camera follows Tiger Temple as he traverses the country, pedalling along peacefully on his bike. The good-natured man shares with amusement a story about the time that he was being followed by “some suspicious people”, whom he managed to get rid of by repeatedly changing direction.

This theme of surveillance is detailed throughout the film, as Tiger Temple and blogger Zhou Shuguang describe the risks of citizen journalism in a country where 69 bloggers and netizens remain in jail for online activities.

“On the internet, there’s another Great Wall. It’s called ‘the Great Firewall,’” the young blogger known as Zola is seen telling a group of aspiring bloggers.

In contrast to Tiger Temple’s calm nature, Zola is eccentric, animated, and unapologetically in search of stardom. But like Tiger Temple, his goal is to share the stories of people who aren’t otherwise heard through the traditional media.

“The truth is, I don’t know what journalism is,” Zola admits at one point. “I just record what I witness.”

In one scene, the young man is seen meeting with a Beijing resident whose small house was slated to be bulldozed in advance of the Olympics. Before asking the man if he is ok with the video appearing online, Zola records the man’s explanation of why he is peacefully resisting the demolition.

The documentary also portrays the barriers that both men face in sharing the truth. When Zola attempts to leave the country to attend a blogging conference in Germany, he is turned back at the airport. During a major political conference in Beijing, police show up at Tiger Temple’s apartment to escort him away from the city.

Both bloggers also face a divide between them and their families, with Zola’s parents questioning his commitment to “the Big Family” of his country, and Tiger Temple admitting that he doesn’t see much of his son, out of a need to protect his family.

The documentary effectively weaves the tales of ordinary Chinese citizens into the film, just as it portrays the story of the bloggers’ journey. From the farmers facing environmental devastation in their once thriving agricultural land, to homeless people evicted from their makeshift shelters near Tiananmen Square, the challenges the subjects face are often heartbreaking to watch.

But the film also portrays an inspiring story about two bloggers that are making a difference in people’s lives, from Tiger Temple raising enough money through his blog to secure housing for the homeless men, to Zola generating awareness about the rape and death of a young girl in the county of Weng’an.

The only time the men are seen together on camera is when they both attend a conference attended by bloggers from across the country. The large group of attendees, listening intently to the words of Zola, appear to be an indicator that despite the risks and challenges of their environment, there are more Zolas and Tiger Temples waiting in the wings.

The stories of these two unique subjects, backed by stunning visuals of rural and urban China, make for an important and memorable film about reporting in a censored setting.

High Tech, Low Life screens at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts on Friday (April 19) at 7:15 p.m. as part of a Reel Causes event.