Broad Museum Event - Film & Talk - "Classmates"

http://broadmuseum.msu.edu/programs/films-and-documentaries

Future Returns Documentary Film Series
In conjunction with Future Returns: Contemporary Art From China, the Broad MSU presents five documentary films that portray daily life in contemporary China, while considering the entangled relationship of its past, present, and future. Following each film screening, the audience is invited to join in dialogue facilitated by Film Studies faculty member Dr. Swarnavel Eswaran Pillai and other MSU faculty members who are engaged in the study of China.

Tuesday, January 27 | 7 PM
Classmates
dir. Lin Xin, 2009, 203 min.
In 1978, director Lin Xin graduated from Tongchuan Coal Mine Middle School. Thirty years later, he encounters his old classmates and records their individual lives and history. Set amidst the backdrop of China’s historic reforms, a story unfolds that is unique to those who came of age in the new era and reveals the events that have come to shape their lives.

Tuesday, February 10 | 7 PM
The Lost River
dir. Tian Bo, 2012, 120 min.
Centered in a remote village on the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province, director Tian Bo revisits his hometown to tell the tale of this ancient village in the process of development. From communal rituals to the election of a village committee to agricultural policy, The Lost River unveils the old and new within the village’s transformative development.

Tuesday, February 24 | 7 PM
China Gate
dir. Wang Yang, 2011, 72 min.
The story of young Chinese students engaged in intensive study, China Gate highlights youth who seek to change their social status through education. Director Wang Yang filmed in three separate regions in China, juxtaposing a small county school with a highly-pressured large city, to capture the struggle of hardworking Chinese youth and the spirit that keeps them fighting against all odds.

Tuesday, March 3 | 7 PM
Flood
dir. Dong Jun, 2008, 90 min.
Addressing the impact of water conservancy and flood prevention programs initiated by the Chinese government, director Dong Jun introduces us to the people living along Weihe River’s southern region. Flood looks closely at the first dam constructed in China 40 years ago and uncovers how the Sanmen Gorge Dam dramatically altered the Weihe River and the livelihood of those living off the surrounding land.