22nd New York Asian Film Festival

Jul 14-30, 2023

FilmsGuestsTalks & EventsSchedule & Tickets

Photo: © 2021 [ShenZhen HuaHao Film & Media Co., Ltd.] All rights reserved.

Special Screening

The Rib (Director's Cut)

肋骨

Thirty-two-year-old designer Huanyu knows he is a woman born as a man and has a support system of transgender friends, doctors and his straight best friend/roommate. However, sex reassignment surgery legally requires parental approval and Huanyu's pious Christian father views it as a deadly sin. This breakthrough film illustrates the intense stigma and obstacles that the LGBTQ+ community must face in China, offering an inside look at both the marginalized and those who condemn them. Striking black-and-white cinematography with an occasional glimmer of color underlines both the authenticity and hypocrisy portrayed in this stinging real-life drama.

Director: Zhang Wei
Cast: Huang Jingyi, Yuan Weijie, Deng Gao, Hao Meng
Languages: Mandarin with English Subtitles
2018; 143 min.

SCHEDULE:

Saturday July 22, 7:00pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Intro & Q&A with director Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei
张唯

Zhang Wei studied directing at the legendary Beijing Film Academy and cinema studies at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. His films consciously examine critical social issues, conveying powerful messages through unassuming storylines. In 2010 he made his directorial debut, Beijing Dream, followed by Shadow Puppetry of One Person (2011). His Factory Boss (2014) was shortlisted in competition at the Montreal International Film Festival and won a Best Actor Award. Ballad From Tibet (2017) won the Best Film Award at the China International Children's Film Festival. In 2018, he won the Kim Jiseok Award at the Busan Film Festival for his controversial film The Rib (NYAFF 2019). The Photographer (2019) was the opening film of the Hainan International Film Festival. In 2020, Empty Nest was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards, and was released on China’s popular online platform Kuai Shou ,with over 16 million views on the first day. Zhang’s latest film, Redemption With Life, takes on machismo, morality and motorcycles in modern China and makes its world premiere at NYAFF 2023.