As the European steel industry went into a devastating slump, a large and modern plant in Kaiserstuhl, Germany, that transformed coal into coke for use in steel mills, was closed in late 2000. In 2003, the plant was purchased by a Chinese firm, but rather than reopening it in Germany, the new owners opted to disassemble the factory and move it to China, where it would be put back together and provide coke for Chinese industrial interests. A team of 400 Chinese workers was sent to Germany with a crew of engineers to break down the plant, while a number of men in Kaiserstuhl who once worked in the plant were hired to help with the project. Filmmakers Ulrike Franke and Michael Loeken followed the massive project with a camera crew, and Losers and Winners is a documentary which portrays the disappointment of the German laborers, whose work guarantees that the jobs the plant once provided will not be coming back, as well as the excitement and determination of the Chinese workers, who believe their efforts will help spark economic and technological progress at home. Losers and Winners was screened in competition at the 2007 Silverdocs Film Festival, a festival for documentary cinema sponsored in part by the American Film Institute. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi