Date: Thursday, January 18, 8 PM

Location: IB 1008 (IB Lecture Hall)

Speaker: Wang Xiuyue, Director of The Woman from Myanmar, Shanghai Film Academy

Director’s Bio

Wang Xiuyue, the director of The Woman from Myanmar, currently teaches at the Shanghai Film Academy. His artistic endeavors span across various mediums, including photography, documentary and animation films, digital media art, as well as modern and contemporary easel painting. Some of his notable works include the feature documentaries City Village (2010), From Generation to Generation (2018), and The Woman from Myanmar (2022). Additionally, he has also directed the animated short film City Villagers (2012).

The Woman from Myanmar has won multiple awards, including the Best Director at the 2022 India Film Festival, Best Feature Documentary at the European Independent Film Festival, and Honorable Mention for Best Documentary at the Eastern Europe Independent Film Festival! The film has also been selected for various film festivals worldwide, including the 11th Los Angeles The Women’s Voices Now Film Festival, Swiss International Film Festival, Portugal International Film Festival, JSFF-Japanese Serbian Film Festival, 9th Pambujan International Film Festival, Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival, Mexico International Independent Film Festival, 10th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra Awards, 2022 ARFF Berlin International Film Awards, and Best Documentary Honorable Mention at the Cambodia International Film Festival, among many others!

Notably, the film has also been shortlisted for the third “Ten Recommended Films” by prominent film critic, Zhang Xianmin.

Prof. Zhang Xianmin’s Ten Recommended Films list:

Synopsis: Larry was born in the mountainous region of northern Myanmar. When she was young, she injured her leg while helping to cut firewood on the mountain. Due to a lack of money for medical treatment, she became crippled. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, Larry followed her aunt to northern China and married a much older man named Cao Haijiang. She spent over a decade with Cao Haijiang and they had two children together. However, during this time, Larry ran away from home and married a young man, with whom she had a daughter.

When summer arrived, Larry returned to her hometown in northern Myanmar.

Director’s Interpretation: A poor woman from Myanmar, Larry, goes through three marriages across international borders and gives birth to four children. In her pursuit of happiness, she finds herself on an irreversible path. This film follows Larry’s journey from Shandong, China, back to her hometown in northern Myanmar, and tells the extraordinary story of her life as a foreign daughter-in-law in China.

Movie Stills: