Sounds wonderful - but where do I go?

I read the advertisement for the film "The Orator" in Sunday's paper (yesterday), a nice ad  which announced the name of the movie and in smaller letters it said "The Internationally Acclaimed First Feature Film from Samoa" "Compelling.  Deeply Moving" and then it said "Exceptionally Beautiful" and then the words that have got me a little miffed.  "PG NOW SHOWING"


I quickly trolled through the theatres programs and could find no mention of the movie.  Grrrr.  I'd love to see it but it is not showing anywhere near me - I've checked with all the theatres that I would go to and those a little further away, but no mention of the film.


I eventually discovered that it is showing in the Logan area - probably makes a lot of sense as there are a lot of Pacific Islanders living in that area.


So I will have to wait.....  Hopefully it will move closer to me in the next few weeks.  Meanwhile I have to check with YouTube.






 And here is some info about the making of the film.


 

Papercutting Storytelling

I have a small  collection of paper cutting art work - it is an ancient Chinese art and is sold in many places in China, so it is no surprise that I was fascinated by this creative art that is done with a sheet of paper, a pencil, scissors or a knife.


Yesterday I discovered Beatrice Coron, who is a paper cutting artist in the US - she was born in Lyon France, and has lived in many places of the world.  She makes the most extra ordinary pieces of artwork which all tell a story.  


You can see a video of a presentation she did - which shows the amazing ways in which her art work has been used around New York.


Click here to see a 20 minute video of a talk she gave - complete with awesome coat that she wore on stage and many examples of her work.







Below is a video to show how to create very simple paper cutting works


 

Peony in Love - More on Chinese Women Writers

I was so enchanted with the first part of the story of Peony in Love, which was so wonderfully written by Lisa See - but when the story ventured to describing Peony's world in the afterlife - which certainly was very strong in Chinese life in the past, and still has some influence, I found it a little boring and considered giving up and not finishing the book.  I persisted and am so glad I did.  


The whole book was extra ordinary - and at the end of the book, The Author's Note explained more not only about the afterlife, but of the extraordinary women writers in early history of China.  Just as in other countries around the world women were regarded as little more than chattels, mens' property and totally discouraged from writing or doing anything artistic.  I can't imagine how that would be to live in such restrictions.  We know that many women wrote and that women's writing groups were around hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and women wrote in secret - hence the secret women's language as Lisa See wrote about in Snowflower and the Secret Fan.  


I am so much a fan of Lisa See now.  I look forward to reading more of her writing.

It would also help so much in understanding the story of Peony in Love to have seen,  or read about the famed "Peony Pavilion" written by Tang Hsien-tsu (1550 - 1616). 

You can read the synopsis of it here.

Another Movie about Qiu Jin

After discovering that there was a movie made about this amazing Chinese feminist, in the last few days I find another movie also about her.  






 I also received an email from the couple who produced "Autumn Gem, and they have just spent two weeks in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra promoting "Autumn Gem"

Chinese Feminist

I have been reading about the life of famed writer Lu Xun from Shaoxing, and came across mention of Qiu Jin, also of Shaoxing who was famous as China's first feminist. She was born in 1875, had her feet bound as was the custom for women of wealthy families, but later fought against that custom. She did marry, and had two children, but left them to fight for changes in China. She was beheaded when she was about 32 years of age. I have just discovered that there has been a film made about her. I will see if I can find it somewhere.


Read more about her  here and here.  


I think there have been two movies about Qiu Jin released recently.  One is Autumn Gem, which is the one this trailer is about.





I found another video too - which tells about the making of the film.

Click here

Peony in Love

After seeing the movie "Snowflower and the Secret Fan" I set out to read another novel by Lisa See, "Peony in Love" - I absolutely loved the story of Peony in the first part of the book, and the tragic twist in the tale.  I continued reading, but gave up as it goes into great detail of the Chinese culture of the afterlife, and I found that to be quite boring in the end.  


I loved the first part of the story and recommend it.  It is quite an awesome tale.


I note that it is available on Kindle now, too.  


For more information and reviews on Peony in Love click here.