Playlist:  Xie Fei Collection by Jenna Makowski, Alexander Street Press

A collection of films by world-renowned Chinese director Xie Fei. Xie Fie is the 2015 winner of the Teaching Award in Asia and the Pacific from the International Association of Film and Television Schools.
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湘女萧萧 = A Girl From Hunan
directed by Xie Fei, 1942- and U Lan, fl. 1986-1990; performed by Guan Zongxiang, fl. 1956-1995, Deng Xiaoguang, fl. 1988-1995 and Na Renhua, fl. 1979-2010 (China: Privately Published), 1 hour 34 mins  
Translated title: A Girl from Hunan. In 1900 a twelve-year-old girl, Xiaoxiao, comes to a mountain village to discover that her uncle has arranged a marriage with a boy who is still breast-fed at two. Strict clan rules govern all behaviors, and she becomes her husband's nanny (he must call her sister until he is old enough to marry her). In one scene, the villagers are discussing a group of schoolgirls who are allowed to marry whomever they want, and who enjoy reading and a degree of freedom that Xiaoxiao longs for. Huagou, a local peasant, takes notice of Xiaoxiao, now sixteen and taking good care of six-year-old Chunguan, and a love affair begins with terrifying consequences. She knows the feudal values her community clings to, and watches them strip and drown a young widow who has been unfaithful to her husband. That woman's lover lives, albeit with broken legs. And what will happen to her? Awards/Festivals: Won 1987 Golden Phoenix Award, Female Actor in a Motion Picture; Nominated 1987 Golden Rooster Award, Best Actress; Won 1988 San Sebastián International Film Festival, Don Quixote Award.
01:34:15
18 Oct 2013
本命年
directed by Xie Fei, 1942-; performed by Tian Liang, 1959-, Wen Jiang, 1963- and Hongxiang Cai, fl. 1987-2013 (China: Privately Published), 1 hour 43 mins  
Translated title: Black Snow. Noted as cinematically prophetic in its narration of China during its post-Tiananmen Square era, Black Snow accounts the life of a young man recently discharged from prison. The film's lurking handheld camera visually presents realistic footage of a man destined for the past from which he left behind. Awards/Festivals: Silver Berlin Bear, Outstanding Single Achievement, Nominated Golden Berlin Bear, Berlin International Film Festival 1990; Hundred Flowers Award, Best Film China 1990.
01:43:11
18 Oct 2013
香魂女
directed by Xie Fei, 1942-; performed by Baoguo Chen, fl. 1981-2010, Yujuan Wu, 1965- and Gaowa Siqin, 1949- (China: Privately Published), 1 hour 45 mins  
Translated title: Women from the Lake of Scented Souls. The men in a rural Chinese village make secret plans to watch sex and action films from Hong Kong. As the story unfolds it becomes clear that the little village can provide more scandalous and juicy materials than any filmmaker can dream up. The story centers around Xiang, her lazy and abusive alcoholic husband, and their mom-and-pop sesame oil making business. Awards/Festivals: Won, 1995, Montreal World Film Festival, Best Director; Won, 1995, Montreal World Film Festival, Best Artistic Contribution for Music; Won, 1996, Shanghai Film Critics Awards, Best Director
01:45:12
2 Oct 2015
益西卓玛 = Song of Tibet
directed by Xie Fei, 1942-; performed by Dawangdui, fl. 2000, Laqiong, fl. 2000 and Danzengzhuoga, fl. 2000 (China: Privately Published, 2000), 1 hour 43 mins  
Translated title: Song of Tibet. During her summer vacation, Dawa returned to Lhasa to see her grandparents. Unfortunately her grandfather was ill and dying. During this time, her grandmother, Yixi Zhuoma, told Dawa her love stories with three men. The first man in Yixi's life was Jiacuo, a strong mule boy from Kangba. At the same time Gongsa, the young master of Luoga Garden, had fallen in love with Yixi. Jiacuo was not persuaded and eloped with Yixi and married her. Their marriage and Jiacuo's great energy brought Yixi a very happy and romantic time in her life. However, as a mule boy, Jiacuo was used to an unstable lifestyle, which drove Yixi back to Gongsa. During the 1950s, Gongsa fled with the Dalai Lama and took Yixi's youngest son with him, asserting that the son was his. In the meantime, Jiacuo could not tolerate Yixi's betrayal and decided to return to his hometown Kongba with his oldest daughter. Several years later, when Yixi got the news that Jiacuo was seriously ill, she immediately decided to begin her difficult and dangerous journey searching for her husband. During that difficult time, she met her old friend Songqiu Lama, who was her third man as well as her forever lover in her life. In their youth, they used to spend a lot of time together, and Songqiu taught Yixi how to write and sing. Unfortunately, they were separated after Songqiu became a monk. With the coming of the Cultural Revolution, Songqiu was forced to leave his temple and lived as an ordinary man again. This enabled him to accompany Yixi to continue her difficult journey. He also encouraged Yixi to return to her husband and he would like to go back to being a Lama again. Dawa sets out to find these men. Awards/Festivals: Won Golden Rooster for Best Music, Special Jury Prize for Acting and Directing, Nominated for Golden Rooster for Best Actress, Best Film, Best Screenplay 2000; Won Film of Merit and Best Director, Shanghai Film Critics Award 2000; Interfaith Award, St. Louis International Film Festival 2001.
01:42:42
2 Oct 2015
黑骏马
directed by Xie Fei, 1942-; performed by Bayirtcya, fl. 1997, Aojirdai, fl. 1997 and Dalarsurong, fl. 1997 (China: Privately Published), 1 hour 41 mins  
Translated title: A Mongolian Tale. Adapted from the novel Black Steed by Zhang Chengzhi (who spent four years during the Chinese Cultural Revolution with an Inner Mongolian family), A Mongolian Tale begins with two children being raised by Nai Nai, a wise grandmother, in the peaceful purity of childhood and the Mongolian steppes. Xie Fei's storytelling is simple and resonates with dignity. The spacious, traditional world of the steppe people is an idyllic landscape that seems timeless. Yet this is no fairytale but the story of childhood sweethearts separated by a changing world. Beiyinbulog, a boy whose father has left him to be raised by Nai Nai, has to leave Somiya, her shepherd grandmother's helper, when his father summons him to train in veterinary science in the city. When he returns for her as a folksinger, three years later, he finds her circumstances radically changed. As adults the two find their true destinies and the hand that fate has dealt. How do we redeem our idyllic dreams dashed by realities? Can love and acceptance be found despite betrayal and loss? Beiyinbulog is played by Tengger, a Mongolian-born pop singer and composer who composed the film's haunting, nostalgic score. His songs in the film capture the future for the children of the Mongolian steppes and the virtuous legacy of their homeland -'the vast and boundless grasslands are the cradle I was reared in.' Awards/Festivals: Best Director, Best Artistic Contribution Tengger's Music, Montreal World Film Festival; Best Director, Shanghai Film Critics Awards
01:40:55
2 Oct 2015
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