A Piece of Heaven
Director S. Louisa Wei
Countries China
Duration 78 min
Synopsis
Among young documentary filmmakers in China, Situ Zhaodun, a veteran professor of Beijing Film Academy, is a godfather figure. Many have shown their works-in-progress to him and received advice, but few know about his stories. This film explores the very meaning of memory and documentation by portraying him and those who influenced him, by putting together some strange puzzle pieces in his life: a 100-US dollar note with Mao's head instead of Franklin's, a handwritten script recording lectures from a man sentenced to death, a five-year imprisonment for offending Madam Mao, a forgot song written in the Cultural Revolution, a father who was the Minister of Culture in China, and a brother who sculptured father-figures of modern China. All these fragments are tied together through his 40-year-long friendship with Joris Ivens, his devotion to teaching documentary, and the birth of over 40 virgin works of documentary during his two visits to Hong Kong in 2003 and 2005. Shot over a three-year period, the film is also a reflection upon documentary filmmaking from early Chinese and Western masters, blending the direct-cinema style with old newsreel clips and "primary documents" constructed through research. The film also has a theme song written by Robert Ellis-Geiger.
Among young documentary filmmakers in China, Situ Zhaodun, a veteran professor of Beijing Film Academy, is a godfather figure. Many have shown their works-in-progress to him and received advice, but few know about his stories. This film explores the very meaning of memory and documentation by portraying him and those who influenced him, by putting together some strange puzzle pieces in his life: a 100-US dollar note with Mao's head instead of Franklin's, a handwritten script recording lectures from a man sentenced to death, a five-year imprisonment for offending Madam Mao, a forgot song written in the Cultural Revolution, a father who was the Minister of Culture in China, and a brother who sculptured father-figures of modern China. All these fragments are tied together through his 40-year-long friendship with Joris Ivens, his devotion to teaching documentary, and the birth of over 40 virgin works of documentary during his two visits to Hong Kong in 2003 and 2005. Shot over a three-year period, the film is also a reflection upon documentary filmmaking from early Chinese and Western masters, blending the direct-cinema style with old newsreel clips and "primary documents" constructed through research. The film also has a theme song written by Robert Ellis-Geiger.