18/11/2019
NCI was proud to support the film screenings of the award-winning Chinese documentary 'The Next Life' and its sequel 'A Second Child' at the Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts on 12th November. 'The Next Life' (2011) follows a working-class couple who lost their only child in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. When the earthquake hit, the father, Zhu, tried to rescue his beloved daughter from the rubble but failed, plunging the couple’s happy life into darkness and uncertainty. The sequel, a short entitled 'A Second Child' (2019) records how the same couple struggle to recover from the painful past.
Over 70 Nottingham students, staff and local residents attended the screenings and Q and A session with filmmaker Fan Jian. Many said they appreciated the opportunity to find out about Chinese social issues. “The documentaries are very touching. It’s amazing to hear from Director Fan about how he worked with the couple and how true life stories were told with cameras,” said one attendee.
When talking about the film and the time he spent with the couple, Fan Jian said “The long-term mental health damage to disaster survivors is equally as severe as the physical and economic damage to environment and society. This issue requires our immediate attention.”
These film screenings were part of the Earth in Crisis Chinese Eco-documentary UK Tour curated by the Chinese Independent Film Network UK with support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The tour showcases a series of Chinese eco-documentary films foregrounding the growing ecological emergency facing our planet and aims to encourage discussion on the topics of sustainable development, anthropogenic climate change and human-environment relationships in the UK.
~ENDS~
Posted on Thursday 21st November 2019