Angles: Women Working in Film and Video (1992)

itt ee ee ee ee ee | report Films from China \ \ e read the following about women filmmakers from the People’s Republic of China in China Screen, a film quarterly distributed worldwide in English and Chinese. Dong Kena from the Beijing Film Studios has 20 films to her credit. She concentrates on stories about women from different historical periods and walks of life. Dong spends about two-thirds of her time away from home making films. One of her films, “Ormosia Inn,” tells the story of two women who are affected by economic reform in a remote mountain town. Wang Haowei graduated from the Beijing Film Academy 28 years ago. Her husband Li Chensheng is a cinematographer and works on all her films. “It is easier working with my husband. There’s no time limit to discussing the film, and I don’t have to worry about my manners,” she said. In her film, “O! Sweet Snow,” the railroad brings modern civilization to a remote mountain village and inspires a young woman’s adventure. Shi Shujun started working in a provincial opera workshop. She went to the Shanghai Film Studio in 1975 and worked her way up from logkeeper to assistant director. In 1983, she directed her first film, ““The Girl Students Dormitory,” which won several international awards. Her husband is a writer, and they have a young daughter. “Real equality between men and women materializes when a woman is no longer cited as being special because of her sex,” said Shi. Her film “Spacious Courtyard,” based on the novel by Taiwanese writer Qiong Yao, 4 @ ANGLES ‘Rambling Rose,” directed by Martha Coolidge, won the best picture award from the In dependent Features Project/West. tells the story of a school teacher who travels to Taiwan from the United States. Bao Zhifang, a popular and respected director working in the Shanghai Film Studio, said, “It is easier to communicate from the heart when a woman directs a woman’s film.” She explores social problems, such as extramarital sex and women’s sexuality which long have been taboo themes in China. Her recent film, “Golden Fingernails,” focuses on the lives and love affairs of five contemporary Chinese women. The Los Angeles Film Teachers’ Association in collaboration with China Film Import and Export Inc. is screening several Chinese films for classroom usage. The first film in the series was “The Last Empress,” which chronicles the decline of the imperial family and the fate of women during those years. For more information: China Film Import & Export Inc., 2500 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1028, Los Angeles, CA 90057. 213/380-7520. FAX: 213/4872089. Other news The UCLA Film and Television Archive presented a series of programs organized by Women Make Movies, which is dedicated to the distribution of multicultural films and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. The series included the following: “Hidden Faces” (1991) by Claire Hunt and Kim Longinotto. Originally intended as a film about internationally renowned feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi, the film develops into a fascinating portrayal of Egyptian women’s lives in Muslim society as Safaa Fathay, a young Egyptian woman living in Paris, returns home to interview the famed writer and activist, but becomes disillusioned with her. “A Powerful Thang” (1992) by Zeinabu irene Davis. This innovative drama, set in Ohio, traces an AfricanAmerican couple’s search for intimacy and friendship. “Land Where My Fathers Died” (1991) by Daresha Kyi. In this beautifully shot drama, a New Yorker, Aziza Williams, returns with her boyfriend to her midwestern hometown. When the couple visits her estranged father and irrepressible uncle, their charged encounter is disrupted by the damaging effects of alcoholism. This is a finely crafted piece about fam ily dynamics and black masculinity. “A Place of Rage” (1991) by Pratibha Parmar. This exuberant celebration of AfricanAmerican women and their achievements features interviews with Angela Davis, June Jordan and Alice Walker, who discuss black power and feminist movements and reassess how women, such as Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer, revolutionized American society. “Shoot for Contents” (1991) by Trinh T. Minh-ha. Reflecting on Mao’s famous saying, “Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend,” Trinh T. Minh-ha’s latest film is a unique excursion into the maze of allegorical naming and storytelling in China. The film ponders questions of power and change, politics and culture, as refracted by Tienanmen Square events. It offers at the same time an inquiry into the creative process of filmmaking, intricately layering Chinese popular songs and classical music, the sayings of Mao and Confucius, women’s voices and the words of artists, philosophers and cultural workers. “The Audition” (1990) by Anna Campion. The filmmaker’s sister, Jane Cam