Alula FF: Center Stage (35th Anniversary)

Alula Film Festival is proud to present a 35th Anniversary screening of Stanley Kwan's Center Stage in a brand new 4K restoration!

International superstar Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) embodies tragic screen siren Ruan Lingyu, known as the "Greta Garbo of China," in this unconventional biopic by Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan (Rouge). Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24. Kwan and Cheung paint a kaleidoscopic yet intimate portrait of the ill-fated actress, deftly blending lush period drama, archival footage, and metatextual documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s legacy. The result is, much like the films of Ruan Lingyu themselves, “tender, vivid and almost overwhelmingly moving” (Time Out).

Alula Film Festival celebrates and champions Chinese and Chinese diaspora indie, arthouse, and auteur cinema. Their programming includes a bi-annual film festival, themed retrospectives, and monthly screenings at the Culver Theater.

www.alulafilm.org