Directed by Aminatou Echard • Documentary • 2018 • 84 minutes
This mesmerizing film, shot in Kyrgyzstan on richly saturated Super-8 footage, is a search for Jamilia, the title character in that country's famous novel by Chinghiz Aitmatov, about a young woman who rebels against the strict rules of her society.
Over the course of its haunting narrative, director Aminatou Echard introduces contemporary Kyrgyz women who, in talking about this literary heroine, reveal their own private lives and desires, the social rules they chafe under and their ideas of freedom.
Jamilia portrays Kyrgyzstan through the prism of these women's stories. They describe what their lives are like in a country where the patriarchal system may see them kidnapped by would-be suitors, and curbs their freedom to work, desire, love, live and dream.
Jamilia lets the women speak for themselves—about resistance and the freedom they find in unexpected places, despite the restraints and limitations imposed upon them. With dreamy pacing and a shifting relationship to time, the film gives viewers access to its subjects' desire for adventure, rebellion, independence and sensuality.
Directed by Lina Yang • Drama • With Hao Lei, Elaine Jin Yan-ling, Qu Junxi, Li Wenbo, Huang Shanghe
• 2019 • 124 minutes
When a mother lives with her mother and her daughter, inevitable conflicts arise, including the revelation of a dark past. When these conflicts come to a boil during a famil...
Directed by Jianbin Chen • Drama • With Jianbin Chen, Jiang Qinqin, Wang Xuebing, Jin Shijia • 2014 • 97 minutes
Based on Hu Xuewen's novella "Running Moonlight", a Chinese shepherd tries to enlist help in getting his son released from prison; when a wandering stranger enters his life, diverting...
Directed by Tsai Ming-liang • Drama • With Lee Kang-sheng • 1992 • 106 minutes
Tsai Ming-liang emerged on the world cinema scene in 1992 with his groundbreaking first feature, Rebels of the Neon God. His debut already includes a handful of elements familiar to fans of subsequent work: a deceptiv...
