Clear your calendars and join us for a fun, air-conditioned "China Through Cinema" evening! Each Friday we will introduce a thoughtfully selected Chinese film that will give you a glimpse into the country's rich culture. Each month is accompanied by a different theme. In June we celebrate Children's Day, so we have selected three films that tell stories from a child's point of view. 

This time we will show 看上去很美 (Little Red Flower), a 2006 film directed by Zhang Yuan 张元。

In the film, Fang Qiang is a four-year-old boy whose parents decide to send him away to a well-appointed kindergarten boarding school. Life in the kindergarten appears rich and colorful, made up of a variety of cheerfully sunny rituals and games meant to train children to be good members of society. Qiang, a fierce individualist, fails to conform to the model his teachers enforce. Yet he still craves the reward that other students win: the little red flowers awarded each day as tokens for good behavior. Will he succumb to the adult-enforced conformity around him, or will he insist on growing up his own way?

The film has English subtitles.

 Grab some iced coffee or cold plum juice, sit back, and enjoy!

The event is hosted by Jenny Man Wu, who will give a short cultural introduction to the film. Jenny is an independent Beijing-based filmmaker and an experienced festival host, judge, and curator. Her films have been screened in film festivals in China and around the world. She is currently working on a new film based in Beijing.