Special Screening
Where the Mountain Women Sing
Followed by Q&A w/ Director
Synopsis:
In a secluded snow village in Northeast China, villagers are preparing an ancient shamanic ritual. Arum, the village's respected elderly shaman, is set to choose her successor. Tianqing, a newly graduated film director, and Jian, a seasoned cinematographer, seek to film this rare cultural gem, hoping to win an Oscar. However Liu doesn’t respect Tianqing as a director and tries to make a move on her. One night, Liu sneaks into Arum's private quarters, crossing a line that deeply unsettles Tianqing. His actions culminate in an assault on Tianqing, threatening to destroy their footage unless she complies. Jian’s unauthorized filming of Arum precipitates leads him to a dark path. It turns out the matriarchal village transforms disrespectful men into reproduction tools. Faced with a moral dilemma, Tianqing has to make a decision.
Schedule
Nov 17, 2024 | 09:00 PM
Director
Juefang Zhang
Juefang is an Emmy-nominated producer and a Third-Culture film director, originally from China, raised in Singapore, and now based in LA. She specializes in Female-Centric Asian Thrillers and International Co-Productions. She started her career as Assistant Director for Jackie Chan. Her portfolio includes Oscar-shortlisted ‘HIDDEN LETTERS’, Emmy-nominated ‘WUHAN WUHAN’, ‘Where The Mountain Women Sing’ (Fantasia, Motelx 2024), ‘DETOUR’ (Golden Globe Snow Leopard Scholarship), and ‘FENNI’ (Ghent View). Her scripts ‘MOLLY BLING BLING’ and ‘FISHBONE’ were finalists at SFFILM Westridge and Sundance Development. Recently, her feature project ‘Where The Mountain Women Sing’ was selected into the Frontières Co-Production Market at Fantasia and APM at Busan.
Credits
Director:
Juefang Zhang
Producers:
Li Chen
Patrick Mao Huang
Kathleen I-Ying Lee
Cinematography:
Yichuan Huang
Editing:
Skylar Lin
Cast:
Fengxiu Guo
Chuqing Wang
Yiming Wang
Screenwriters:
Li Chen
Lee Shin-ji
Music:
Aldo Arechar
Juefang Zhang
Qing Xue
Juefang Zhang
15 min | Thriller, Mystery, Drama | 2024 | Hong Kong, US, Taiwan | Mandarin | English Subs
Screened before feature: If Only I Could Hibernate (Mongolia)