Never Sorry

Has anyone watched this yet? I just saw it, loved it. I think for me its part following your conscience, part rebel, part artist that makes me love Ai WeiWei. I recommend the film.

A short video I made.

Here is a short video that I made. Bonus points for anyone who tells me who the opening seen pays homage to.

Great Documentary on kung-fu movies.

This from Netflix, where you can stream it: An animated but earnest kung fu fan (who knows all his trivia) narrates this documentary tribute to the great martial arts stars and their films. The movie includes scenes from more than 200 movies featuring Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and other stars.

Hidden China Film Series at Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY

October 4-25: Jacob Burns Film Center Announces “Hidden China” Film Series, an Unprecedented Look Independent Chinese Cinema

Series curated by latest International Fellow Zhu Rikun

Pleasantville, NY – September 24, 2012 – Producer Zhu Rikun and filmmaker Wang Wo, both natives of China, are the two newest international fellows to take up residence at Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) this October, coinciding with our “Hidden China” film series. Zhu Rikun is one of the best known figures in Chinese independent cinema. In 2001 he founded Fanhall Studio, a production and distribution company whose goal was to stimulate the development of independent Chinese cinema. He produced many of the hardest-hitting Chinese films in recent years, including such major works as Xu Xin’s Karamay and Li Hongqi’s Winter Vacation. Rikun was the organizer of the Beijing Independent Film Festival and the Songzhuang Documentary Film Festival, both of which helped flourish Chinese independent film. Wang Wo is a filmmaker and artist, and a teacher at the Li Xianting Film School, the first independent film school in China. Rikun and Wo will be at JBFC throughout the month of October.

While at the JBFC, Zhu Rikun will work on postproduction of a new film with Wang Wo, a close associate and designer of Rikun’s Fanhall Studio complex.

Rikun is the curator of the JBFC film series “Hidden China,” a special look at a group of uncompromising movies that reveal a China we might not otherwise see. The series, which runs from Oct. 4-25, includes 17 programs with introductions and post-screening discussions with Zhu Rikun, Wang Wo, and other figures in Chinese cinema. This series includes four films by Chinese activist, artist, and filmmaker Ai Weiwei, three films by current JBFC Filmmaker-in-Residence Wang Wo, and a program on Chinese animation. What makes “Hidden China” so unique is the fact that many films in this series have never been screened in the United States and, according to a recent New York Times article, are just as difficult to see in China. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/business/global/indie-filmmakers-feel-heavy-hand-of-beijing.html?pagewanted=all 

“This is a look behind the scenes, an uncensored and uncompromising vision of one of the most dynamic and rich cultures on earth, but one that remains largely hidden for most of us behind the high walls of language and distance and official censorship. It’s a very rare opportunity to see these unflinching films guided by our latest international Fellows: Zhu Rikun, one of the most influential producers of independent Chinese Cinema, and Wang Wo, a celebrated documentarian,” said Brian Ackerman, JBFC Programing Director. For more information on “Hidden China,” please visit the series page on the JBFC website. http://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/films/film-series/detail/56644

Reel China Biennial at NYU

The 6th Reel China Documentary Biennial will be held at NYU on the weekends of October 19-21 and October 26-28. 721 Broadway, 6th Floor, Michelson Theater. Curated by Profs Angela Zito and Zhang Zhen. The program has not been finalized yet, but if you are interested - and will be in the NYC area - the program is open to the public, as far as I know.

Preliminary list of films is at the website: Reel China Biennial

I will be there both weekends. If anyone wants more information, go to the website or you can email me and I'll let you know as soon as I know more.

NYT article on Beijing Film Festival and the Chinese government

A Panoramic View of China's Cultural Revolution

Nancy Jervis asked me to post this for her...A Panoramic View of China's Cultural Revolution.

> > http://www.sgvtribune.com/highlanders/walnut/ci_21362885/walnut-high-teacher-has-very-busy-summer
This is a link to an article that a local paper did on me after my district PR person sent out the press release Nancy & Susan provided.  Actually, an online article was published, too, as well as the City Council invited me to their meeting yesterday and gave me one of those fancy proclamations to hang in my classroom to honor me for having gone to the institute.  I was amazed!

The Olympics were great by the way.

I hope everyone got home smoothly & safely.  I know I'm back to work.

-Joanne

Your heart might be all aflutter after you read this...

The latest info on Wong Kar-Wai's latest venture, The Grandmaster.

New Take on Great Leap Fwd....

A student is writing about the Flu Epidemic of 1918 for her Extended Essay.  I got this email from her and thought you all might appreciate it.  If anyone wants, I can get the citation from her:

I was working on my extended essay and decided to read past the 1918 part of one of my books. It talked about how most epidemics and pandemics started in China and researchers are starting to believe that a large number of the deaths from the Great Leap Forward were from the Asian flu (1957) along with the deaths by starvation.