The Best of Global Lens: China DVD Set (First Run)
RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2011
Dam Street — by Li Yu
During a time of rigid moral code in China, a sixteen year old girl living in a small riverside town discovers she is pregnant. The community is stunned, her family loses face and she and her boyfriend are expelled from their school; in the aftermath, her boyfriend leaves her, and she is forced to put her child up for adoption. Ten years later, she is reduced to working as a singer in a local song and dance troupe, her only friend a young boy who protects her from the critical eyes of the community… until a marriage proposal probes the limits of their friendship and the depth of her unresolved past.
WINNER! Grand Prize – Best Film, Deauville Asian Film Festival
WINNER! Best Director, Ghent Int’l Film Festival
WINNER! Jury Prize, Venice Film Festival
“CHINESE FILMMAKING AT ITS BEST: Picturesque, emotive and haunting. This lyrical, quietly powerful study of a proud young woman trapped in a man’s world boasts rich, burnished cinematography, arresting imagery, and a stunning central performance from the beautiful Liu Yi.”- Edinburgh International Film Festival
Luxury Car
A Film by Wang Chao
In this award-winning drama, an old schoolteacher travels from his small village to the city of Wuhan in search of his missing son, who his dying wife wants to see one last time. But instead of finding their son, he discovers his daughter working as a karaoke bar escort, and her mobster boyfriend might be linked to his son’s disappearance. Fast-paced and suspenseful, with a beautiful performance by Chinese star Tian Yuan, Luxury Car illustrates the painful reality of parents who have lost contact with their children through rural exodus and political upheaval in China.
WINNER! Prix Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival
“The performances are subtle and smart. Chinese pop star Tian Yuan is both tender and seductive.”- The Hollywood Reporter
Stolen Life — A Film by Li Shaohong
A young girl, Yanni (Xun Zhou), is taken to live with her aunt and grandmother in Beijing. As an adolescent, Yanni becomes withdrawn and reclusive, believing that she has been abandoned by her parents, and that she has no control over either her life or her fate. Surprising everyone, Yanni is accepted to college. But as she prepares to begin her new life, an encounter with a delivery man triggers a series of unexpected events.
WINNER! Best Film – Tiburon International Film Festival
WINNER! Best Narrative Feature – Tribeca Film Festival
“Riveting. A polished feminist eye-opener!”- Variety
Uniform — A Film by Diao Yinan
Wang, a young tailor struggling to pay his father’s medical bills and simultaneously gain the attention of a pretty girl, discovers a solution for both problems: a policeman’s uniform, left in the family shop. He begins to impersonate a police officer, extorting money and impressing the attractive Zheng, who also leads a double life – as an escort. A humorous but realistic portrait of the clashing values of modern-day China.
WINNER! Dragons And Tigers Award For Young Cinema, Vancouver International Film Festival
SPECIAL MENTION, Rotterdam International Film Festival
“Uniform is beautifully observed…great performances.”- London Film Festival
