My China Now—Part II

The second program of short films by Chinese filmmakers (see Part I, Oct. 15) includes 16 works offering unique prisms through which to view contemporary Chinese society. Among the selections: Wu Ershan’s Zhai Yun's China, in which he invites a blind 11-year-old to describe his China; Jin Shan’s 25,000 Miles to Heaven, a meditation on the utopian ideals of the past in the light of the present economic rollercoaster; Wang Peng’s RMB, which considers money, money, money: a symbol, an emblem, a security net, and the root of numerous new evils; Wang Qingson’s Skyscraper, a monument to human ambition, but perhaps an allusion to actual triumph; Xue Li’s 751: A Process of Modernization, documenting the makeover of a former factory complex into a new consumer paradise; Chen Zhong’s Sichuan Street Songs, which captures the songs performed day in and day out by local vendors pounding the streets of Chengdu; Shu Haolun’s Struggle, which chronicles a self-taught lawyer’s battle to fight for health care for injured workers in the fast-paced mecca of Shenzhen, where streets may be paved with gold, but factories definitely are not; Shu Haolun’s Yiwu, exploring a small town in Zhejiang Province that is claimed to be the Mecca of “Made in China” goods.

Free for members or with Museum admission. Film only: $8 general, $7 students and seniors.

Sponsored by Portland Chinese Garden.

Whitsell Auditorium