The Memory Project
Fall 2019
Rubenstein Arts Center, Duke University
Wu Wenguang, a foundational figure for Chinese independent documentary film, launched The Memory Project in 2010 to document the gathering of oral histories from the rural survivors of China’s Great Famine (1958-1961). Wu and two of his collaborators will be on campus for three nights of film screenings and one night of performance.
Sponsors: Presented by Duke University Libraries; co-sponsored by the Asian/Pacific Studies Institute (APSI), the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI), the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES), the Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts (MFA|EDA), and the Center for Documentary Studies.
Tuesday, Oct 22 @ 7pm
"Self-Portrait: Window in 47KM" (Zhang Mengqi, 2019)
The eighth film in Zhang Mengqi’s monumental 47km series follows an 85-year-old man reflecting on his revolutionary history in pursuit of Mao’s “New China” and the 15-year-old woman whose portrait painting practice elicits his memories.
-- Zhang Mengqi in attendance
Thursday, Oct 24 @ 7pm
"Dumb Men" (Hu Tao, 2018)
“People in my hometown call those who are shy and untalkative “touxiuzi”. As a touxiuzi in our family, I try to uncover and open up the real heart beating under our touxiuzi exterior.” (HT)
-- Hu Tao in attendance
Friday, Oct 25 @ 7pm
"Autobiography II: Struggle" (Wu Wenguang, 2018)
“My birth was accompanied by many struggles for my mother. Those “struggles” include: during pregnancy, “should this child be kept,” to the painful struggles in the delivery process. Struggles have also accompanied since I was born, becoming part of my life.” (WW)
-- Wu Wenguang in attendance
Monday, Oct 28 @ 7pm
"Reading Father" Live Performance (Wu Wenguang, Zhang Menqi, Hu Tao, 2019)
Note: Performance takes place in Ruby Studio 124
Reading Father attempts to open up the obscure passageway to the history of Mao era, by rereading official documents, the “files” on an “anti-revolutionary” person.
-- Wu Wenguang, Zhang Mengqi, and Hu Tao in attendance
[ Back to Screen/Society Fall 2019 Schedule ]
Screen/Society screenings are free and open to the public.
Parking Info: https://artscenter.duke.edu/parking/