On December 13, the talented Chinese film director Ning Ying will speak about her films at China Institute in New York City. This two-hour interactive event will feature Ning's film clips and discussions between audience and the director herself on Chinese films. The discussions will be in Chinese.
Ning Ying's directing career began with her apprenticeship with the world-known Italian director Bertolucci. Ning was his assistant director for The Last Emperor in 1987. Two years later Ning directed her first feature film, "Someone Loves Just Me", a light comedy, which at the time was a box-office success in the China market. In the following years, she directed several feature films depicting the profound changes of Beijing and its people during the fast evolving epoch of post-Cultural Revolution. They included For Fun (1992), On the Beat (1995) and I Love Beijing (2000), also known together as the "Beijing Trilogy." "For Fun" gained worldwide recognition, garnering prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival and a few other international film festivals.
With her deep concern for the disadvantaged people in China, and with her insightful observations, Ning made a documentary film attributing to migrant peasants who cross China each year. Entitled "Railroad of Hope", this documentary film presents an astonishing portrayal of an unforgettable train ride of 3000 kilometers taken by thousands of peasants from hinterland Sichuan Province in the southwest to Xinjiang in the northwest of China. A screening of "Railroad of Hope" will be held on Wednesday, December 10 at Asia Society.