Film + Digital Media, History, and Anthropology are pleased to co-present a screening of
READYMADE and Q+A with visiting Chinese filmmaker Zhang Bingjian.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 10 - 11:45 AM, COMMUNICATIONS 150 / STUDIO C
Although Chairman Mao died 35 years ago, he lives on in the form of his impersonators. This documentary is about two ordinary middle-aged individuals who make a career out of their physical likeness to Mao. The first, a farmer from Mao’s hometown studies at the Beijing Film Academy with his family’s support and dreams of playing Mao on the big screen. The second, a housewife, struggles to overcome her husband’s aversion toward her new career. Through their lives and performances, the film presents trenchant insights into the legacy of the “Great Helmsman” in today’s China.
Born in Shanghai, Zhang Bingjian graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 and received an MFA degree from the University of South Carolina in 1993. He directed a feature film Suffocation in 2004 that starred the well-known actor Ge You. Readymade is his first documentary.
Contact: Yiman Wang / Irene Lusztig
