present

FOUR CONTEMPORARY CHINESE FILMS
from China Century Entertainment

April 5 - 6, 2003

All Films Shown in Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium
53 Wall Street, New Haven, CT

FREE ADMISSION

Saturday, April 5

1:00 PM

A Sigh (Yi sheng tan xi)
Directed by Feng Xiaogang, 2000, 120 minutes

What does a happily married man do when a beautiful young woman is thrust into his life? Liang Yazhou, a respectable mid-aged writer, has a difficult decision to make: Does he fulfill his responsibility as a father and husband, indulge in the romance, or both? This exquisite story is sensitively directed and magnificently shot by one of China's most talented and popular directors. (Winner of Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Playwright in the 24th Cairo International Film Festival, 2000)

Screenplay: Wang Shuo
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Art Director: Liu Xingang
Cinematographer: Zhang Li
Sound: Wang Danrong
Music: Zhao Jiping, Zhao Lin
Cast: Zhang Guoli as Liang Yazhou / Liu Bei as Li Xiaodan / Li Xu Fan as Song Xiaoying / Fu Biao as Liu Dawei

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Saturday, April 5

3:30 PM

Postmen in the Mountains (Na shan na ren na gou)
Directed by Huo Jianqi, 1998, 90 minutes

As an award winning film and a top box-office grosser in Japan 2001, Postmen in the Mountains is directed by Huo Jianqi. It is a magnificently photographed and sensitive film that portrays a very simple story of a man handing over his life's work to his son. Although it takes place in the remote mountains of Hunan, China, the story is both age-old and contemporary: communication between father and son. Throughout the film we meet the various townsfolk and others the postman has served over the years. Their admiration and love for him and the purpose he serves as a postman provides the son with a new and profound understanding of his father. (Winner of Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor at the 19th Golden Rooster Award, China, 1999; Audience's Favorite Film Award at the 32nd Montreal International Film Festival; and Jury's Special Award at the 31st Indian International Film Festival)

Screenplay: Si Wu
Director: Huo Jianqi
Cinematographer: Zhao Lei
Art Director: Song Jun
Sound: Guan Jian
Music: Wang Xiaofeng
Cast: Teng Rujun as Father / Liu Ye as Son

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Sunday, April 6

5:00 PM

Woman Sesame Oil Maker (Xiang hun nu)
Directed by Xie Fei, 1992, 106 minutes

This award-winning film is masterfully directed by Xie Fei and boasts strong performances by one of China's most revered stars, Siqin Gaowa, along with a brilliant supporting cast. A beautiful, intelligent woman seeks comfort from the stress of her business, a violent, alcoholic husband, and a mentally retarded son in the arms of another man. When the young girl she has arranged to marry her son discovers her affair and responds with sympathy rather than disapproval, she feels remorse. In an attempt to free the girl, she offers to dissolve the marriage. The young girl, however, is reluctant. She fears that no one can love her. Two women at the mercy of tradition and circumstance, take control of their lives by supporting one another. (Golden Bear award and Film Critic award at the 43rd Berlin Film Festival, 1993; one of the ten best Chinese language films at the 10th Hong Kong film festival, 1993; and Best Actress at the 29th Chicago Film Festival, 1994)

Screenplay: Xie Fei
Director: Xie Fei
Cinematographer: Bao Xiaoran
Cast: Siqin Gaowa / Wu Yujuan / Lei Kesheng / Chen Baoguo

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Sunday, April 6

7:30 PM

Tutor (Ban ni gao fei)
Directed by Li Hong, 1999, 90 minutes

Tutor is the first effort of a talented female director, Li Hong. When she made this film, she was only twenty-three years old, yet she handles her subject with a disarming sense of maturity and sensitivity. Her cinematographer, also twenty-three, reinforces her sensitive touch with a beautifully photographed lyrical Shanghai. Parents, seeking to improve their son's ability in elementary school, hire a number of tutors. The newest tutor decides to hand over his assignment to his roommate, a shy, introverted, sensitive young man. With some difficulty in the beginning, the tutor and student form a bond that, despite their generational differences, helps each other to overcome their personal difficulties: the student learns how to study and the tutor learns what it means to teach. (Second Prize, Italian Udine Far East Film Festival, 1999; Best Maiden Work at China's College Students' Film Festival, 1999; and Best Director at Indian Hadi Laba International Children's Film Festival, 1999)

Screenplay: Fu Xing
Director: Li Hong
Cinematographer: Huang Lian
Art Director: Li Zhuoyi
Music: Fan Tao
Cast: Gao Feng as Zhu Bo / Wang Sishen as Zhou Maomao / Xie Run as Mo Lan

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For information regarding these special screenings on April 5 and 6, please contact 203-432-3426.

For more information about these films and China Century Entertainment, please visit http://www.prcmovie.com