Chinese Film Month kicks off at Islamabad's arts council

Chinese Film Month was inaugurated at the Pakistan National Council of Arts on Friday.

The event was opened by Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of China You Yi, China Cultural Centre Director Li Shou and PNCA Director Jamal Shah. The lecture hall was packed with local and foreign guests, including diplomats, for the screening of two Chinese films.

The first film was about Chinese architecture, and the second one, ‘Breaking the Silence’, directed by Zhou Sun, was a feature film about a single mother and her young son with a hearing impairment.

“It was a beautiful but sad film. It showed how complicated life can be in the big cities in China. They are melting pots and not everyone has success. People are vulnerable in the cities where the family network is often missing”, said Fu Jun, a university teacher in Islamabad.

“But the film was universal,” said another guest, who was herself a special education teacher.

It showed how strong and intelligent the young boy was, finding his way in an uneven world. First, neither the mother nor the boy would admit that he was different with his handicap. But then they accepted it, at the same time realizing the value in difference,” she added.

PNCA will screen films every Friday evening during February and there will be various other cultural events in connection with the Chinese New Year on Feb 16.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2018