Tag: Film Screening and Discussion Events

China’s independent film scene, once vibrant, now lies in ruins—shattered bricks and scattered debris. Yet survivors and newcomers continue to gather these fragments, seeking to rebuild hope through the power of cinema. Co-hosted by Non-profit JF Books and the Sinovisual Culture and Art Institute and CIFA, in collaboration with George Washington University, Georgetown University, USCET, and CAF, the inaugural 2025 Screening of Sinophone Independent Films opens a raw and authentic window onto China’s grassroots realities. At the same time, it interlaces Taiwanese documentaries with voices from Hong Kong, Uyghurs, the Philippines, and Africa—together sketching the silhouette of independent cinema’s resilient soul amid the ruins.

Theme of the festival: “Real Edges: Identity, Struggle, and Memory in a Shifting World”

What drives a Uyghur father and daughter to defy China’s censorship in Xinjiang? How do they preserve their bond amid cultural erasure? All Static & Noise unveils their fight for truth with haunting visuals and raw testimonies, stirring curiosity about resilience in a silenced land.

About the Guest of Honor

Jewher Ilham is Associate Producer of All Static & Noise, an author, and advocate for the Uyghur community and for her imprisoned father, Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti. In addition to appearing in the film, she hosted production in Washington, DC and Bloomington, IN. She was hugely instrumental in facilitating community engagement during production and post-production and advised the team on important aspects of the Uyghur experience. She provided expert advice, contributed archival footage, and connected the team with experts, witnesses, and translators. She also brought in many of the film’s participants. Ilham has testified before the U.S. Congress and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, published op-eds in The New York Times, CNN and the Guardian, and received numerous international awards on behalf of her father including the European Parliament’s Sakharov prize. In 2015, she recounted her experiences in her book, Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur’s Fight to Free Her Father. Her second book, Because I Have To: The Path to Survival, the Uyghur Struggle was released in 2022. Ilham currently works at the Worker Rights Consortium as Forced Labor Project Coordinator and serves as a spokesperson for the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour.  

China’s independent film scene, once vibrant, now lies in ruins—shattered bricks and scattered debris. Yet survivors and newcomers continue to gather these fragments, seeking to rebuild hope through the power of cinema. Co-hosted by Non-profit JF Books and the Sinovisual Culture and Art Institute and CIFA, in collaboration with George Washington University, Georgetown University, USCET, and CAF, the inaugural 2025 Screening of Sinophone Independent Films opens a raw and authentic window onto China’s grassroots realities. At the same time, it interlaces Taiwanese documentaries with voices from Hong Kong, Uyghurs, the Philippines, and Africa—together sketching the silhouette of independent cinema’s resilient soul amid the ruins.

Theme of the festival: “Real Edges: Identity, Struggle, and Memory in a Shifting World”

In the Same Breath unveils the chaotic dawn of COVID-19 in Wuhan. With raw footage and fearless inquiry, it exposes propaganda and human costs across China and the US. A shattering, must-see journey into the truth. This film screening also serves as the opening ceremony for the film festival.

About the Director

Nanfu Wang is a documentary filmmaker creating intimate character studies that examine the impact of authoritarian governance, corruption, and lack of accountability on the lives of individuals and the well-being of communities. With the rigor of an investigative journalist and immersive, emotionally powerful storytelling, Wang interrogates notions of responsibility and freedom, particularly amid the repressive state mandates in her native China.

Nanfu Wang completed a continuing education program in China before going on to earn an MA (2010) from Shanghai University. Wang also holds an MA (2012) from Ohio University and an MA (2014) from New York University. Prior to being admitted to the continuing education program, Wang worked as a primary school teacher.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

6:00 PM – 8:45 PM

B12

Elliott School of International Affairs

1957 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Join us for a free movie screening of “Cocktail Party” and a discussion with the film’s director, Theodore Regge Life, and moderated by Dr. Steve Rabson, Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies at Brown University.

Movie: When the daughter of a Japanese businessman in Okinawa charges that a U.S. serviceman assaulted her, the serviceman claims the encounter was entirely consensual. The ensuing civil and military investigations bring to light persistent resentment going back many years on both sides about the human toil of accommodating long term military occupation.

This event is free and open to the public.

Friday, September 27, 2019
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Room 602, Lindner Family Commons
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052

Synopsis

The “comfort women” issue is perhaps Japan’s most contentious present-day diplomatic quandary. Inside Japan, the issue is dividing the country across clear ideological lines. Supporters and detractors of “comfort women” are caught in a relentless battle over empirical evidence, the validity of oral testimony, the number of victims, the meaning of sexual slavery, and the definition of coercive recruitment. Credibility, legitimacy and influence serve as the rallying cry for all those involved in the battle. In addition, this largely domestic battleground has been shifted to the international arena, commanding the participation of various state and non-state actors and institutions from all over the world.  This film delves deep into the most contentious debates and uncovers the hidden intentions of the supporters and detractors of comfort women. Most importantly it finds answers to some of the biggest questions for Japanese and Koreans: Were comfort women prostitutes or sex slaves? Were they coercively recruited?  And, does Japan have a legal responsibility to apologize to the former comfort women?

This event is on the record, and open to the public.

Photo credit to No Man Productions, LLC.

Director

Miki Dezaki is a recent graduate of the Graduate Program in Global Studies at Sophia University in Tokyo.  He worked for the Japan Exchange Teaching Program for five years in Yamanashi and Okinawa before becoming a Buddhist monk in Thailand for one year.  He is also known as “Medamasensei” on Youtube, where he has made comedy videos and videos on social issues in Japan. His most notable video is “Racism in Japan,” which led to numerous online attacks by Japanese neo-nationalists who attempted to deny the existence of racism and discrimination against Zainichi Koreans (Koreans with permanent residency in Japan) and Burakumin (historical outcasts still discriminated today). “Shusenjo” is his directorial debut.