BEYOND THE IMAGE: A CHINESE FILM SERIES with curator/artist MICHELLE SUI
BEYOND THE IMAGE: A CHINESE FILM SERIES
A series of three films and conversation with curator/artist MICHELLE SUI.
(Streaming live on Facebook Live; free)
Automata presents BEYOND THE IMAGE: A CHINESE FILM SERIES, curated by Los Angeles multidisciplinary artist Michelle Sui. This program includes three films, with live introductions by Sui, and will be streamed on April 18, 2020 on Facebook live. The films will be followed by a live Conversation with Michelle Sui and Chinatown community members.
BEYOND THE IMAGE: A CHINESE FILM SERIES is a part of Michelle Sui’s extended residency with Automata this year, centered on her Street Angel Project, and with funding from the California Arts Council Artists in Communities program. The Street Angel Project is Sui’s ongoing project spanning over three years of research and engagement with the Chinatown community in Los Angeles, resulting in various iterations of performance and video in partnership with local organizations, artists, community leaders, and audiences. The three films in the series have been critical resources for Sui’s ongoing research.
BEYOND THE IMAGE: A CHINESE FILM SERIES will present each film in its original language with English subtitles. The films include The Goddess (1934), directed by Wu Yonggang, Spring in a Small Town (1948), directed by Fei Mu , and Street Angel (1937), Directed by Yuan Muzhi.
During her residency at Automata, Sui has conducted further research into the complex history of the neighborhood. She has become a presence in the community, and has been in conversation with its residents, especially Chinese-American senior citizens who are trying to maintain their daily routines despite the recent housing developments and gentrification in the neighborhood. In addition to talking with them and hearing their stories, Sui presented street performances of Chinese folk songs from classic films, bringing familiar entertainment to an audience that often gets overlooked in the arts hub Chinatown has become.
Each streamed film will be introduced live by Michelle Sui. The final film will be followed by a live discussion of the central themes of the films, as well Sui’s Chinatown residency, with stories and insights from her time in the neighborhood.
This project was made possible with support from Automata and the California Arts Council CAC), a state agency, and through the Automata Residency Program, with support from the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Link to Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1152336478444715/
Visit this event page for more information and streaming links to the films and conversation.
BEYOND THE IMAGE: A CHINESE FILM SERIES Event Details:
2 PM: The Goddess (1934) // Directed by Wu Yonggang // 73 min
Film icon Yuan Lingyu stars in this cult classic silent film about a young mother who resorts to prostitution in order to send her son to school in 1930’s Shanghai. A classic Chinese story and archetype, played hauntingly by Yuan, whose own life too tragically mimics her onscreen fate.
4 PM: Street Angel (1937) // Directed by Yuan Muzhi // 91 min
A slapstick classic following two displaced sisters in 1930’s Shanghai, Street Angel launched the career of cultural icon Zhou Xuan, who sings two refugee songs in the film that has since become household classics: “The Wandering Songstress” and “Four Season Song”.
7 PM: Spring in a Small Town (1948) // Directed by Fei Mu // 98 min
Folk music and a female protagonist’s thoughts narrate this classic Chinese telling of a complicated love story. Different from other Chinese films of its time in its political neutrality and female perspective, Spring in a Small Town is deemed by many as the greatest Chinese film of all time.
9 PM: Conversation with Beyond the Image curator / multidisciplinary artist Michelle Sui and guest speakers to be announced soon.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michelle Sui (Curator) is a Chinese-born, Los Angeles-raised multidisciplinary artist, composer, and director. Much of her work exists at the intersection of performance, music, dance, film, and new media and draws upon body as geography, language in translation, the performance of femininity, and the union of voice and body. Her multimedia works have been presented in Germany, Italy, the Republic of Georgia, and the U.S. Her research and performance in women’s folk music traditions has taken her to Eastern Europe, China, and the Caucasus and she frequently teaches embodied voice workshops in Los Angeles, where she is currently based.
Michelle also works as a writer, producer, and curator and is the founder of Nü House, a curatorial platform that facilitates conversations across borders and connects diverse artists, organizers, and communities through collaborative interdisciplinary projects in different cities worldwide.
Website: www.michellesui.com
Instagram: @michelle.sui