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.