Crossing Borders and Identity
November 6th-8th
The first dialogue is of Asian art and drama that travels through time and geographical constraints.
The first two films of this dialogue, The Wheel of Life and dialogue, ISVARA: The Art and Life of Yu-Yu YANG, explore how artistic creation crosses time, space, and national boundaries, and overcomes the impermanence of life.
The Immortals' Play and A Peking Opera Master in New York document a Vietnamese émigré to Taiwan and a group of Beijingers living in New York. With their beloved traditional Taiwanese and Chinese operas, they cross national borders and prejudices as they continue to pursue their art and embark on a journey of their new identity.
timerAll films, except The Wheel of Life and Super Citizen Ko (screening for two hours), are available on demand for 24hrs starting from their show times.
US PREMIERE
11/6 (Fri) 7pm Eastern - 11/6 (Fri) 9pm Eastern, Live
King HU, LI Hsing, PAI Ching-Jui│1983 (Restored in 2019) │ 105min │ Mandarin (English + Mandarin subtitles)
1983 Golden Horse Awards - Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction
1983 Asia-Pacific Film Festival - Best Actor
Under the wheel of life, three souls continually metamorphose into different characters, continuing their twisted romances over 300 years: a malicious secret policeman has a crush on a prestigious swordsman’s daughter; a man from a rich family falls in love with a lower-class Chinese opera diva; and a modern dancer encounters a shaman from a fishing village. All three romances center on an ancient dagger and the tragedies it causes.
From esteemed directors King HU, LI Hsing and PAI Ching-Jui, The Wheel of Life marks the trio’s second collaboration following Four Moods. The film consists of three vignettes with the same cast of three actors. Each director brings his own signature style. The first segment by King HU showcases vivid, stylized wuxia imagery against the backdrop of the secret police system in the Ming Dynasty. The second segment by LI Hsing is a melodrama on frustrated love separated by class and conservative traditions. The third segment by PAI Ching-Jui reflects the urban-rural contrast, and the conflict between the modern and the traditional. His subject and style could be regarded as the vanguard of Taiwan New Cinema. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)
Director Spotlight: King HU (胡金銓)
Born in Beijing in 1932, King HU received critical acclaim for his first wuxia film, Come Drink with Me, which is considered a pioneering work that helped birth modern martial arts cinema. Hu's Dragon Inn (1967), broke box office records and became a phenomenal hit and cult classic in Southeast Asia. His next film A Touch of Zen (1971) became the first Chinese-language wuxia film to be awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)
Director Spotlight: LI Hsing (李行)
LI Hsing was born LI Zi-Da in Shanghai in 1930. His works, which include Brother Wang and Brother Liu Tour Taiwan (1959), Oyster Girl (1964) and Beautiful Duckling (1965), are known for mirroring the real lives of Taiwanese people and conveying observations on social issues. LI has had a profound influence on the development of motion picture in Taiwan, with his contributions culminating in a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1995 Golden Horse Awards. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)
Director Spotlight: PAI Ching Jui (白景瑞)
PAI Ching-Jui was born in 1931 in Liaoning, China. He came to Taiwan in 1949. Inspired by Italian neorealism, he became the first Taiwanese person to study film in Italy. After completing his studies in 1964, he returned to Taiwan and worked at the Central Motion Picture Company. Beginning in the 1970s, he tried his hand at romantic art films and adaptations of literary works. His notable works include The Coldest Winter in Peking, Lonely Seventeen, and Goodbye Darling. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)
11/6 (Fri) 9pm Eastern - 11/7 (Sat) 9pm Eastern
FU Chang-Feng, WANG Yae-Wei│2018│ 135min │ Mandarin, Taiwanese (English subtitles)
An In-Depth View into the Life and Works of This Great Artist of 20th Century.
Yang’s daughter Kuan-Qian leads us through the master’s life-long journey of learning and creation. Renowned Chinese artist, environmental designer and architect, Yu-Yu YANG (YANG Ying-Feng, 1926-1997), was born in Ilan County, Taiwan and studied in Tokyo and Beijing. A pioneer in public art in Taiwan, Yang used stainless steel in his sculptures and showed his respect for both nature and the arts. Over 60 years, he held numerous exhibitions worldwide. Many of his works have now become majestic landmarks. (Source: Creative Century Entertainment Co., Ltd.)
11/7 (Sat) 7pm Eastern - 11/8 (Sun) 7pm Eastern
LAI Li-chun, PENG Jia-ru│ 2016│ 113min │ Mandarin, Vietnamese (English + Mandarin subtitles)
Coming from Vietnam, Annie has aspired to be a star of Vietnamese opera since her tender age, but turned out to be a star in the National Circus of Vietnam after growing up. Feeling strong affinity, she’s married to the leader of the Taiwanese opera troupe and finally made herself the female lead in the troupe. In order to raise her daughter who suffers developmental delay, Annie has no choice but to shoulder the heavy burden of her real life. She also spends considerable time to learn a new language to inherit the tradition of the troupe. However, the declining number of audience members portends an uncertain future of the troupe. The troupe members do their best performance, even though they don’t have much applause or income. Each of its performances is dedicated to God, the troupe’s eternal audience. Every now and then the troupe drifts from one temple to another, performing their life on stage. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)
US PREMIERE
11/7 (Sat) 9pm Eastern - 11/8 (Sun) 9pm Eastern
Haitao GUO│2016│ 58min │ Mandarin, English (English + Mandarin subtitles)
Legendary Peking Opera Grandmaster, Yuling Fang, emigrates to New York where he works in a nail salon. Realizing there is no one to inherit his legendary skills, he decides to mount an amateur production in order to keep alive the vanishing world he loves. (Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1458597321/a-peking-opera-master-in-new-york)