Friday, April 7, 2023
Online Event
About the Film: Inspired by a true incident, Shen Yu's debut
OLD TOWN GIRLS tells a tale about how an unsustained economic boom desolates working-class communities and familial relations. Tempted by living a new life as a professional dancer in big cities, Qu Ting bid farewell to her marriage in a decaying rust belt town, leaving behind her infant daughter Shui Qing, who’s been alienated by her dad’s new family since. Never felt equally loveable as her peers, Shui Qing instantly gets carried away by Qu Ting's worldly charisma and maternal attention when the two meet seventeen years later. But the high schooler is soon forced to face the reality behind her mom’s sudden reappearance and years of unglamorous survival. As dangers loom, she decides to sacrifice everything for the slim chance of reunification. For more about the film, visit:
http://www.chengchengfilm.com/edu/oldtowngirls
About the Director: Originally from Shanghai, Shen Yu is a Chinese screenwriter and director. She is a graduate of the Bejing Film Academy and is the director of
OLD TOWN GIRLS (兔子暴力), which explores the relationship between three high school friends against the backdrop of broken families, lies, and crime.
Online dialogue: A Conversation between film director Shen Yu and Michael Berry from the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRkZXUde8g8
Online screening: The UCLA online streaming for OLD TOWN GIRLS will run from 4/7/2023 - 4/14/2023. To view the film for free with the code "UCLA2023", please follow the steps below:
1. Visit
https://vimeo.com/log_in to log into the platform. Viewers can do so by either signing up for a new account first or with an existing Vimeo/Facebook/Google/Apple account.
2. After login, open the link below. (Only valid on 4/7/2023-4/14/2023. An error message will show up outside the date range.)
https://vimeo.com/r/3HIR/VHMxekVNYn
3. In the pop-up, click "Rent" on the left and "Continue" on the bottom.
4. Click "Watch Now" once you're ready to start streaming the film."
Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies