By Kevin B. Lee
Dooman River (dir. Zhang Lu)
Dooman River, the new film by Zhang Lu, was one of my favorite Chinese films of last year (even though it’s a South Korean-European co-production). Zhang’s film offers a rare glimpse at what is happening at the Chinese-North Korean border, examining the complex situations that arise when North Koreans illegally cross into China, seeking safe harbor from ethnic Koreans on the other side. The film will make a stateside appearance on Friday at the University of Chicago, along with another accomplished film, Yang Yonghi’s Sona, the Other Myself, in which director Yang Yonghi reunites with her North Korean niece after having grown up in Japan. Full details in the event press release after the break.
Border Crossings in East Asian Cinema: Koreans on the Move
Two Evenings with Directors Zhang Lu and Yang Yong-hi Friday, May 27, 2011 – 7:00pm – Saturday, May 28, 2011 – 5:00pm Film Studies Center University of Chicago
Border Crossings in East Asian Cinema brings to campus films that cross generic and geographic borders in East Asia. This year’s theme, ≥Koreans on the Move,≤ calls attention to recent works about the experiences of migrants and refugees from and to North Korea.
Dooman River, a feature film by ZHANG Lu, and Sona, the Other Myself (Goodbye, Pyongyang), a documentary by YANG Yong-hi, explore questions of ethnic identification and solidarity, probing into the tragic ways in which national boundaries affect people’s lives and reminding us of the vital yet fragile efforts of those who seek to maintain human connections across national borders.
Screenings will be followed by conversations with the directors and a roundtable discussion with University of Chicago faculty and graduate students.
Conference Schedule Friday, May 27 7:00pm Screening: Dooman River (Zhang Lu, 2010, South Korea/France, 35mm, 89 min) 8:30pm Q&A with director Zhang
Saturday, May 28 1:00pm Screening: Sona, the Other Myself (Goodbye, Pyongyang) (Yang Yong-hi, 2009, Korea/Japan, DVD, 82 min) 2:30pm Q&A with director Yang 3:00pm Coffee break 3:15pm Roundtable discussion 4:15pm Public reception
Co-sponsored by CEAS Committee on Korean Studies, CEAS Committee on Chinese Studies, CEAS Committee on Japanese Studies, and Confucius Institute at the University of Chicago.
For more information, please visit: http://filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu/events/2011/border-crossings-east-asia n-cinema-koreans-move