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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241101T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241101T143000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20240930T152342Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260127T181519Z
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SUMMARY:PRC @ 75 – Film Screening – The Dreamers Revisited: Bumming in Beijing (Original Extended Version)\, featuring an introduction by Eugene Yuejin Wang & Q+A with Wu Wenguang and Dingru Huang
DESCRIPTION:Introduction: Eugene Yuejin Wang\, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art; Founding Director of Harvard FAS CAMLab\, Harvard University.
Q+A Discussion: Dingru Huang\, Rumsey Family Junior Professor in the Humanities and the Arts\, Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies\, Tufts University; former Fairbank Center associateProgrammer: Sam Maclean\, Communications Manager\, Fairbank Center for Chinese StudiesFollowed by a Zoom Q+A with filmmaker Wu Wenguang\, director of Bumming in Beijing: The Last Dreamers \n\n\n\n“I hope I can find a secure place to settle\, giving me enough time to create my art freely. That’s not too much to ask\, is it?” — painter Zhang Dali \n\n\n\nOften referred to as the first independent Chinese documentary ever made\, Bumming in Beijing: The Last Dreamers (1990) follows five young\, migrant artists—photographer Gao Bo\, playwright Mou Sen\, writer Zhang Ci\, and painters Zhang Dali and Zhang Xiaping—as they navigate the complexities of sociopolitical life in their adopted home of Beijing in the late 1980s.  \n\n\n\nThe subjects of the film (most of whom are now internationally recognized\, exhibited\, and award-winning artists in their respective fields) here refer to themselves\, alternately\, as “vagrants\,” “migrants\,” and “freelancers.” Some attended university in Beijing in the early 1980s\, while others migrated from rural parts of Heilongjiang\, Liaoning\, and Sichuan to look for work. The film’s director\, Wu Wenguang\, himself migrated to Beijing from Yunnan in 1988\, originally to take a position at CCTV. But after 1989\, Wu’s situation began to mirror that of his subjects—a struggling\, independent artist searching for free modes of expression. \n\n\n\nBumming in Beijing began its production life in 1988\, as an episode of a CCTV documentary series which would eventually be shelved for being too sensitive for its depiction of restless\, counterculture youths. In the fall of 1989\, Wu discreetly revived the project\, independently\, relying on the close relationships that he had developed with his subjects to draw out their feelings on a range of hot-button contemporary issues—residence permits\, economic inequality\, the commodification of art\, the position of women in the society\, and the temptation to go abroad—and using his remnant CCTV resources to complete an initial\, 134-minute version of the film. \n\n\n\nSubsequently\, a much shorter\, 68-minute version of Bumming in Beijing was created for international audiences\, screened at various film festivals\, and developed a reputation as one of the foundational works of China’s “New Documentary” film movement.  \n\n\n\nFor this screening\, we present the original\, extended cut of the film (which was only recently subtitled in English). This version offers a more immersive experience of what it was like occupying spaces on the margins of society at one of the most fraught and volatile moments in recent Chinese history. The filmmaking also strikes a balance between talking head-style documentary and long\, dialogue-less passages observing the subjects’ domestic life and artistic practice. It’s a more raw vision—Wu can be heard off-screen instructing his cinematographer how and when to move the camera; you can identify moments\, especially in earlier shot scenes\, when Wu is still working out how to approach his subjects—but all this strengthens the connective tissue between the mode of the film’s production and the social discourses it’s documenting\, resulting in a moving portrait of free and creatively resourceful art in the face of oppression. \n\n\n\nEugene Yuejin Wang is the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art at Harvard University\, where he holds appointments in History of Art and Architecture\, Archeology\, Theater\, Dance\, and Media (TDM)\, Study of Religion\, and Inner Asia and Altaic Studies. A Guggenheim Fellow\, he is the author of the award-winning Shaping the Lotus Sutra: Buddhist Visual Culture in Medieval China. He is also the art history editor of Encyclopedia of Buddhism. His research ranges from early art and archaeology to modern art\, media\, and cinema. He is also the founding director of Harvard CAMLab\, which explores the nexus of cognition\, aesthetics\, and multimedia storyliving through expanded cinema and filmic installations.Dingru Huang is the Rumsey Family Assistant Professor in the Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies. Before joining Tufts\, she was at the University of California\, Berkeley\, as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Chinese Studies. Her research explores the entanglement of cultural production\, technological development\, and ecological imaginations in China and East Asia\, particularly the roles played by nonhuman animals. She has been published in peer-reviewed journals\, such as Modern Chinese Literature and Culture\, Ex-Position\, Wenxue\, and the Chung-wai Literary Quarterly.  \n\n\n\nThe Fairbank Center’s film screening series explores the largely unseen early history of independent film in China\, beginning in the late 1980s\, aiming to unearth films long-suppressed by Chinese authorities to fill out the narrative of modern film history in the PRC. \n\n\n\nBumming in Beijing (Original\, Extended Version)\, directed by Wu Wenguang. China\, 1990\, documentary\, 134 min. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/prc-75-film-screening-the-dreamers-revisited-bumming-in-beijing-original-extended-version-featuring-an-introduction-by-eugene-yuejin-wang/
LOCATION:CGIS South\, Tsai Auditorium (S010)\, 1730 Cambridge St\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Film Screening,Special Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/bumming.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250223T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250223T160000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20250206T170929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250206T170931Z
UID:39307-1740321000-1740326400@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Film Screening: This Woman (這個女人)
DESCRIPTION:Purchase tickets\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDirected by Alan Zhang (China\, 2023\, 90 min.). Mandarin with English subtitles.  \n\n\n\nIn her striking debut feature\, filmmaker Alan Zhang explores the life of a 35-year-old woman who\, after losing her decade-long job during the COVID-19 pandemic\, returns to her hometown from Beijing. As she works to support herself\, her parents\, and her child\, she navigates intimate relationships and embarks on a profound journey of self-discovery. Deftly blurring the line between documentary and fiction\, This Woman delves into the role of women in contemporary Chinese society\, questioning the expectations imposed on them and their pursuit of freedom. Awarded the Special Jury Prize at Visions du Réel\, Zhang—a feminist activist\, artist\, and filmmaker—delivers a timely and courageous work that invites reflection and dialogue. \n\n\n\nWatch the trailer. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-screening-this-woman-%e9%80%99%e5%80%8b%e5%a5%b3%e4%ba%ba/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, Remis Auditorium\, 465 Huntingon Ave\, Boston\, Massachusetts\, 02115\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events of Interest,Film Screening
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/this-woman.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T193000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20250310T182439Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250404T230852Z
UID:39752-1744218000-1744227000@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Film Screening + Discussion – River Elegy (河殇)\, Episodes 1 & 2 featuring Rana Mitter and Yasheng Huang
DESCRIPTION:Rana Mitter\, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations\, Harvard Kennedy SchoolYasheng Huang\, Epoch Foundation Professor of Global Economics and Management\, MIT Sloan School of ManagementModerator: Dorinda (Dinda) Elliott\, Executive Director\, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies\, Harvard University \n\n\n\n\n“It may have been the most important television program ever broadcast in the history of the world.”—Rana Mitter\, BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time\, “The May Fourth Movement\,” December 9\, 2021 \n\n\n\n\nJoin us for a special screening of River Elegy (河殇)\, the landmark 1988 Chinese documentary series that ignited nationwide debate with its bold critique of China’s historical path and traditional culture. The event will feature a panel discussion with distinguished scholars Rana Mitter (Harvard University)\, Yasheng Huang (MIT)\, and Fairbank Center Executive Director Dorinda (Dinda) Elliott. \n\n\n\nWe will present a newly restored digital transfer of the series’ first two episodes\, “In Search of a Dream” and “Destiny”\, both in Chinese with newly translated English-language subtitles. \n\n\n\nFirst aired on CCTV1 in June 1988\, River Elegy uses the color “yellow” (symbolizing the Yellow River and the Yellow Emperor) as a metaphor for cultural and political stagnation\, contrasting it with “blue” (representing the open sea and maritime exploration) as a symbol of modernity and openness. Through poetic narration and a provocative visual collage of archival footage\, the series critiques China’s Confucian traditions and historical isolationism\, arguing that these forces hindered the country’s progress in the 20th century. It calls instead for reform\, global engagement\, and celebrates the economic liberalization taking place under Deng Xiaoping. \n\n\n\nRiver Elegy struck a deep chord with a generation navigating the tensions of modernization. Its writer\, Su Xiaokang\, quickly became one of China’s most prominent public intellectuals. The documentary received high-level endorsement from Party figures including former president Yang Shangkun\, Deng Pufang (son of Deng Xiaoping)\, and premier Zhao Ziyang—each of whom supported and even hosted special screenings of the series. But following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests—which some scholars argue were partly catalyzed by River Elegy’s widespread influence—the series was banned amid a sweeping political crackdown. \n\n\n\nDecades later\, River Elegy remains a powerful historical document. Its themes continue to resonate\, particularly as the liberal values that the series championed—democracy\, human rights\, the rule of law—appear increasingly embattled\, not only in China\, but also in the United States and around the world. \n\n\n\nRana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of several books\, including Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II (2013)\, which won the 2014 RUSI/Duke of Westminster’s Medal for Military Literature\, and was named a Book of the Year in the Financial Times and Economist. His latest book is China’s Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism (Harvard\, 2020). His writing on contemporary China has appeared recently in Foreign Affairs\, the Harvard Business Review\, The Spectator\, The Critic\, and The Guardian. He has commented regularly on China in media and forums around the world\, including at the World Economic Forum at Davos. His recent documentary on contemporary Chinese politics “Meanwhile in Beijing” is available on BBC Sounds. He is co-author\, with Sophia Gaston\, of the report “Conceptualizing a UK-China Engagement Strategy” (British Foreign Policy Group\, 2020). He won the 2020 Medlicott Medal for Service to History\, awarded by the UK Historical Association. He previously taught at Oxford\, and is a Fellow of the British Academy.Yasheng Huang is Epoch Foundation Professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. From 2013 to 2017\, he served as an associate dean in charge of MIT Sloan’s global partnership programs and its action learning initiatives. His previous appointments include faculty positions at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School. He is the author of 11 books in both English and Chinese and of many academic papers and news commentaries. His book\, The Rise and the Fall of the EAST: How Exams\, Autocracy\, Stability\, and Technology Brought China Success\, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline\, was published by Yale University Press in 2023. He is collaborating with Chinese academics on a book project\, The Needham Question\, based on a comprehensive database on Chinese historical inventions and politics. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-screening-discussion-river-elegy-%e6%b2%b3%e6%ae%87-episodes-1-2-featuring-rana-mitter-and-yasheng-huang/
LOCATION:CGIS South\, Tsai Auditorium (S010)\, 1730 Cambridge St\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-10-at-2.06.20 PM-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T163000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20250411T214600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260127T181445Z
UID:39984-1746019800-1746030600@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Film Screening\, Part 2 – River Elegy (河殇)\, Episodes 3 - 6 featuring Andrew S. Erickson & Shih-Diing Liu
DESCRIPTION:Andrew S. Erickson\, Professor of Strategy\, China Maritime Studies Institute\, U.S. Naval War College; Visiting Scholar 2024-25\, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies\, Harvard UniversityShih-Diing Liu\, Professor of Communication and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies\, University of Macau; Visiting Scholar 2024-25\, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies\, Harvard University \n\n\n\nJoin us for the second part of our special screening of River Elegy (河殇)\, the landmark 1988 Chinese documentary series that ignited nationwide debate with its bold critique of China’s historical path and traditional culture. This event will feature commentary from two of our current visiting scholars\, Andrew S. Erickson (U.S. Naval War College) and Shih-Diing Liu (University of Macau). \n\n\n\nWe will present a newly restored digital transfer of the final four episodes of River Elegy: “Aura” (Episode 3)\, “A New Era” (Episode 4)\, “Worries” (Episode 5)\, and “Azure” (Episode 6). All episodes are in Chinese with newly translated\, English-language subtitles. \n\n\n\nFirst aired on CCTV1 in June 1988\, River Elegy uses the color “yellow” (symbolizing the Yellow River and the Yellow Emperor) as a metaphor for cultural and political stagnation\, contrasting it with “blue” (representing the open sea and maritime exploration) as a symbol of modernity and openness. Through poetic narration and a provocative visual collage of archival footage\, the series critiques China’s Confucian traditions and historical isolationism\, arguing that these forces hindered the country’s progress in the 20th century. It calls instead for reform\, global engagement\, and celebrates the economic liberalization taking place under Deng Xiaoping. \n\n\n\nRiver Elegy struck a deep chord with a generation navigating the tensions of modernization. Its writer\, Su Xiaokang\, quickly became one of China’s most prominent public intellectuals. The documentary received high-level endorsement from Party figures including former president Yang Shangkun\, Deng Pufang (son of Deng Xiaoping)\, and premier Zhao Ziyang—each of whom supported and even hosted special screenings of the series. But following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests—which some scholars argue were partly catalyzed by River Elegy’s widespread influence—the series was banned amid a sweeping political crackdown. \n\n\n\nDecades later\, River Elegy remains a powerful historical document. Its themes continue to resonate\, particularly as the liberal values that the series championed—democracy\, human rights\, the rule of law—appear increasingly embattled\, not only in China\, but also in the United States and around the world. \n\n\n\nAndrew S. Erickson is a Professor of Strategy in the U.S. Naval War College (NWC)’s China Maritime Studies Institute\, which he helped establish and has served as Research Director\, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He testifies periodically before Congress and briefs leading officials\, including the Secretary of Defense. Erickson helped to escort the Commander of China’s Navy on a visit to Harvard and subsequently to establish\, and to lead the first iteration of\, NWC’s first naval officer exchange program with China. He has received the Navy Superior Civilian Service Medal\, NWC’s inaugural Civilian Faculty Research Excellence Award\, and NBR’s inaugural Ellis Joffe Prize for PLA Studies. His research focuses on Indo-Pacific defense\, international relations\, technology\, and resource issues. Dr. Erickson was a 2019-2022 Visiting Scholar.Shih-Diing Liu is Professor of Communication and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies\, University of Macau. Liu’s research focuses on exploring the emotional dynamics of politics\, the formation of popular identity\, the expressive and embodied forms of political practices\, and the psychology of nationalism in contemporary China. His books include The Politics of People: Protest Cultures in China (SUNY Press\, 2019) and Affective Spaces: The Cultural Politics of Emotion in China (Edinburgh University Press\, 2024\, with Wei Shi). Continuing with a focus on emotion from the Affective Spaces project\, his current research explores the intersection of affect and gender in contemporary China. Arguing that Chinese gender has increasingly become an archive of feelings marked by ambivalence toward authorities\, this book project uncovers the power of emotion in negotiating the gendered order. Meanwhile\, he is also working on a book project that explores the emotional capabilities of Artificial Intelligence.Schedule:1:30 pm: Introductory Remarks by Shih-Diing Liu \n\n\n\n1:45 pm: Episode 3: “Aura” & Episode 4: “A New Era” (71 min.)3:00 pm: Comments from Andrew S. Erickson \n\n\n\n3:15 pm: Episode 5: “Worries” & Episode 6: “Azure” (66 min.) \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-screening-discussion-river-elegy-%e6%b2%b3%e6%ae%87-episodes-3-6-featuring-andrew-s-erickson-and-shih-diing-liu/
LOCATION:CGIS South S020\, Belfer Case Study Room\, 1730 Cambridge St.\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-11-at-5.16.52 PM.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251113T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251113T200000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20251106T140148Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251106T140545Z
UID:43161-1763056800-1763064000@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Films from the Film Study Center: Screening and Conversation
DESCRIPTION:Please join us\, in partnership with ArtsThursdays\, for a special screening of short films by Darol Olu Kae\, Kendra McLaughlin\, Tiff Rekem\, and Svetlana Romanova—current fellows at the Film Study Center at Harvard. Following the screening\, the filmmakers will participate in a conversation with Dennis Lim\, Artistic Director of the New York Film Festival. \n\n\n\nTiff Rekem
: Trilogy (working title)\, 2026\, work in progress\, 15 min. Ten years ago\, prominent director of Taiwan popular cinema Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) set out to make three historical epics set during the little-known 17th-century Dutch colonial period in Taiwan — until the production fell apart\, unfinished\, in 2025. This project refashions the visual and sonic traces of the Taiwan Trilogy into an alternative historical period piece that\, during a time of rising nationalism in Taiwan\, observes the construction of cinema as the construction of a national identity. A work in progress. \n\n\n\nKendra McLaughlin
: Lo que las olas no rompen (What the Waves Don’t Break)\, 2026\, work in progress\, 12min 30s. Along Lima’s southern coast\, men fish\, camels eat\, and life cycles through death and back again. \n\n\n\nSvetlana Romanova: Hinkelten\, 2023\, Russia\, 15 min.
Filmed in the Yakutian Arctic and constructed out of personal poems and notes\, this visual essay poses questions about our perception of contemporaneity and image production’s intersection with the creation of narratives around the idea of love (romantic\, platonic\, intimate\, and maternal). \n\n\n\nDarol Olu Kae: Keeping Time\, 2023\, USA\, 32 min. Keeping Time is a kaleidoscopic audiovisual homage to musicians who pass on the magic and the communities that nourish them.
  \n\n\n\nThis event is co-presented by the Film Study Center at Harvard University and ArtsThursdays\, a university-wide initiative supported by Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA). \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/films-from-the-film-study-center-screening-and-conversation/
LOCATION:Harvard Film Archive\, Carpenter Center\, 24 Quincy St\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events of Interest,Film Screening,Taiwan,Taiwan Studies
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/tiff-rekem.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260218T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260218T210000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20260203T162308Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T214549Z
UID:44182-1771437600-1771448400@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Film Screening - Too Loud for the State—Chinese Rock n’ Roll on the March: Zhang Yuan’s Beijing Bastards 北京杂种 (1993)
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Rana Mitter\, ST Lee Chair in US–Asia Relations\, Harvard Kennedy SchoolGuest filmmaker (via Zoom Q&A):Zhang Yuan\, Director of Beijing Bastards \n\n\n\n\n“Rock music was the only way young people could express what they were feeling.” —Zhang Yuan \n\n\n\n\nJoin us for a special screening of Beijing Bastards (北京杂种\, 1993)\, Zhang Yuan’s raw\, unflinching\, and influential portrait of China’s underground rock n’ roll scene\, filmed amidst a moment of profound cultural rupture in the country’s capital. This screening will be introduced by Professor Rana Mitter (Harvard) and followed by a Zoom Q&A with director Zhang Yuan  (张元). \n\n\n\nBeijing Bastards is an odyssey through the vibrant\, seedy underbelly of Beijing’s bars and hutongs. It features rock icons Cui Jian (崔健) and Dou Wei (窦唯) loosely playing versions of themselves as they gig\, drink\, fight\, and curse their way through torrid summer nights and muddled days. Zhang captures sweltering rehearsal rooms\, crowded performance venues\, makeshift living spaces\, violent clashes\, and fleeting moments of intimacy within a milieu that existed largely outside—and often in tension with—the state\, the broader society\, and its rules. \n\n\n\nThe film powerfully registers the emotional fallout of post-1989 China\, when political expression was pushed into the shadows even as economic liberalization accelerated. In this climate of dashed idealism and uncertain transition\, loud and passionate Chinese rock music (yaogun 摇滚) became a precarious outlet for release\, dissent\, and self-definition. Beijing Bastards documents this subculture with an immediacy that was unprecedented in Chinese cinema. \n\n\n\nA restless blur of color\, motion\, and thunderous sound\, Zhang’s film functions simultaneously as musical documentary\, as piercing sociopolitical commentary\, and as raucous drama. It highlights the destructive behaviors—particularly among men—shaped by alienation\, emasculation\, and disillusionment. At a moment when China was seeking order and stability\, Zhang instead turned his camera toward lives at the margins\, portraying them with unvarnished honesty. \n\n\n\nFilmed on a shoestring budget and without official permission—making it among China’s earliest crop of independent films—Beijing Bastards was never approved for domestic release. Its international festival screenings in the mid-‘90s brought Zhang global attention but also a multi-year filmmaking ban. Over its history\, aside from the occasional celluloid screening\, most viewers of the film have had to settle for heavily degraded bootlegs. For this event\, we’re proud to present Beijing Bastards in a newly digitized transfer from its original 35mm print—a rare opportunity to experience Zhang Yuan’s zeitgeist-capturing opus in all its audiovisual splendor. \n\n\n\nThe screening will be preceded by Zhang Yuan’s Beijing Film Academy student film White Lines (白线\, 1988)\, starring painter Liu Xiaodong (刘小东)\, the film’s first ever public screening. \n\n\n\nRana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US–Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of numerous books on modern Chinese history\, including Forgotten Ally (2013) and China’s Good War (2020). His commentary on China has appeared in Foreign Affairs\, The Guardian\, and The Financial Times\, and he has regularly contributed to BBC Radio and television. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and recipient of the 2020 Medlicott Medal for Service to History. \n\n\n\nZhang Yuan is a pioneering figure in China’s independent film movement and one of the so-called “Sixth Generation” directors. His major films—including Beijing Bastards\, Mama\, and East Palace\, West Palace—challenged official narratives and censorship norms\, helping to redefine the possibilities of Chinese cinema in the 1990s. His work has screened widely at international festivals and remains central to discussions of underground culture\, sexuality\, and subversiveness in contemporary China. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-screening-too-loud-for-the-state-chinese-rock-n-roll-on-the-march-zhang-yuans-beijing-bastards-%e5%8c%97%e4%ba%ac%e6%9d%82%e7%a7%8d-1993-white-line/
LOCATION:CGIS South\, Tsai Auditorium (S010)\, 1730 Cambridge St\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-4.40.34-PM-e1770414340217.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260304T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260304T210000
DTSTAMP:20260521T212710
CREATED:20260212T181139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T220704Z
UID:44370-1772647200-1772658000@fairbank.fas.harvard.edu
SUMMARY:Film Screening — Invisible Nation\, followed by Q&A with Director Vanessa Hope
DESCRIPTION:Register now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeaker: Vanessa Hope\, DirectorDiscussant: Ya-Wen Lei\, Professor\, Department of Sociology\, Harvard University \n\n\n\nInvisible Nation follows the story of Taiwan’s first female president\, Tsai Ing-wen\, and explores themes of resilience\, identity\, and freedom\, while shedding light on Taiwan’s complex history and its ongoing struggle in the international society. The 90-minute documentary will be followed by a discussion featuring Director Vanessa Hope and Prof. Ya-Wen Lei. \n\n\n\nRegister Here \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenue
URL:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-screening-invisible-nation-followed-by-qa-with-director-vanessa-hope/
LOCATION:Hall C\, Science Center\, 1 Oxford St.\, Cambridge\, Massachusetts\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Film Screening,Taiwan
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fairbank-screening.png
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