Orphaned and sold to a brothel at a very young age, Pan Yuliang becomes friends with a wealthy civil servant who is moved by her fate. In this biopic of the legendary 20th-century Chinese painter, Derek Yee plays the role of a married man opposite the forceful actress Gong Li. He takes the young woman as his concubine and enables her to take off towards a creative independence totally at odds with the Chinese authorities and society of the times. Pan Yuliang studied and began to gain recognition as a painter in Paris before returning to China to teach. The “provocation” of her painting of female nudes eventually eased off over time, her talent was fully recognised and her paintings repatriated. Co-produced by Zhang Yimou. FM
SCREENINGS
LE CINÉMATOGRAPHE
SAT 16 > 2 pm
WED 20 > 8:45 pm, in the presence of Clarence Tsui, journalist, critic in Hong Kong and co-programmer of the Derek Yee retrospective.
