Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival debuted, "Wuhan! Wuhan! " and many other works by Chinese filmmakers have been screened
Reported by Maggie Ma los Angeles
The annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival begins September 24 in downtown Los Angeles. The documentary "Wuhan! Wuhan! 》(Wuhan! Wuhan！ Ascension, a documentary about the pursuit of ideals and real obstacles by Young Chinese people, and Try Harder, a documentary about the academic and employment pressures faced by Chinese students in the United States, will be screened from September 24 to October 2.
Founded in 1983 by Visual Communications, the Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival celebrates the achievements of filmmakers and groups in the Asia-Pacific region, and is the largest Asian-American film festival in California, with more than 100 Asian filmmakers exhibiting each year. This year's festival is back offline, and most of the films will be screened at the Regal LA Live Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
This year's film "Wuhan! Wuhan! is a documentary filmed after the lockdown in Wuhan in early 2020. One of the film's producers, Nancy Xu of Starlight Culture and Entertainment Group Co., Ltd., said in an interview with U.S. News Express that their crew was supposed to shoot another film in Wuhan at that time, but because of the sudden outbreak of the new crown, the shooting plan was canceled, and the staff was trapped there. Directors Cheng Gong and Zhang Qiaoyong were originally documentary filmmakers, and they decided to lead the local crew to the hospital to record the real situation faced by the people of Wuhan at that time.
Xu Yunlan said: "Because after the incident, there was little understanding of everything that happened in Wuhan at home and abroad, and there were many rumors, and this film takes people to see the real experience of the people and medical staff in Wuhan at that time from the first perspective." She also mentioned that fortunately, they got permission from the local government and hospital to shoot, but the crew had to be fully armed and wear protective clothing every day, which was very hard. At the same time, they should try not to affect the work of medical staff and obtain the consent of the patient's family. They shoot more than they do in the film, but only five groups of humane stories are selected in the film. Many people were moved by the story of one of the young couples who welcomed their newborn during that time.
The well-known film star Zhen Zidan is also one of the producers of this film. Xu Yunlan said that Zhen Zidan has cooperated with their company before, attaches great importance to this film project, and hopes to use his popularity to let more people see this film and understand the hard work of Medical Staff in Wuhan.
Most of the directors and producers of this film are Chinese filmmakers overseas. Xu Yunlan also mentioned that her company is also working with well-known Chinese directors James Wan and Jon Chu who are active in Hollywood to introduce their works to the Chinese market. Among them, Wen Ziren's latest horror film "Malignant" was recently launched at the same time as the North American streaming media iQiyi in China. Xu Yunlan said that they would like to introduce more works by Asian filmmakers from all over the world to Chinese audiences, provided that these filmmakers are of course friendly to China, but it is important that the works are excellent. Wen Ziren's previously directed "Aquaman" has won a good box office in China, laying a high popularity, although horror films inevitably need to be abridged before they can be reviewed, but in the end, the simultaneous distribution of Chinese streaming media is still a pioneering groundwork, laying the foundation for the introduction of more movies in the future.
Wuhan! Wuhan! It will be screened at the Asia Pacific Film Festival at 1 p.m. on Sunday, 26 at Regal L.A. LIVE, and is expected to be released in North America after that.
Other Chinese-related works exhibited at the festival include The documentary "Try Harder" by Chinese filmmaker Debbie Lum, which was also screened at Regal L.A. LIVE at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, 26. The film was shortlisted for the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, documenting the pressures from family and society experienced by some chinese descendants in San Francisco, as well as the struggle to identify with and pursue the American dream.
A Shot Through The Wall, directed by Amee Long, another Chinese-American director, is a crime thriller. The story follows a series of controversies and consequences caused by asian-American police detectives shooting and killing an African-American suspect for legitimate defense in a U.S. detective. The film reflects racial discrimination, prejudice, hate crimes in the United States and the challenges faced by the police in the process of handling the case. The film was shown at Regal L.A. LIVE on Saturday, 25 at 5 p.m.
This year's Tribeca Film Festival in New York, "Ascension," winner of best documentary feature film, will also be on display on Sunday, 26th. The film documents the faces of China under the prevalence of contemporary consumerism: the people at the bottom toil to make a living, the middle class to do everything possible for more wealth, and the rich class to get drunk in the lights, describing the inequalities behind China's rapid economic development and the challenges faced by the younger generation to get ahead.
"List of a lifetime," starring Chinese actress Kelly Hu, tells the story of a breast cancer patient who wants to fulfill her wish before she dies: to find her daughter who has abandoned her and share her story with her. The film will be screened at Regal L.A. LIVE next Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the 29th.
Source: American News Express (http://www.usnewsexpress.com) All rights reserved Reprint is strictly prohibited.