The Renwen Society at China Institute presents a film screening of the documentary Dreaming Against the World on Mu Xin, one of the most original and overlooked Chinese artists and authors of the past century on May 21, 2016, 2-4 pm.

Mu Xin: Dreaming against the World

The Renwen Society at China Institute presents a film screening of the documentaryDreaming Against the World on Mu Xin, one of the most original and overlooked Chinese artists and authors of the past century on May 21, 2016, 2-4 pm.

Mu Xin (1927-2011) is the pen name of a renowned Chinese writer and artist. Born in Wuzhen, near Shanghai, China, into a wealthy aristocratic family, Mu Xin was among those in the last generation to receive a classical education in the literati tradition, while at the same time he was also exposed through voluminous reading to the highest achievements of Western art and culture at a very young age. In 2006, Mu Xin returned to China, after living in NYC since 1982, at the invitation of Wuzhen Township, where the local government had renovated his family house. The same year, his writings were published for the first time in Mainland China. A selection of Mu Xin’s prose fiction, An Empty Room, was published in English by New Directions Publishing in New York in 2011. Last year Mu Xin Museum in his hometown Wuzhen was opened to public.

DREAMING AGAINST THE WORLD is a documentary portrait of Mu Xin, one of the most original but largely unknown artists of the 20th century. While illegally imprisoned during China’s Cultural Revolution Mu Xin endangered his life to secretly write and paint. If caught he risked execution, but it was against these perilous odds that he created an astonishing body of work that merged East and West, terror and transcendence. Filmed on location in China and New York by OSCAR® and EMMY® nominated filmmakers Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello, DREAMING AGAINST THE WORLD is the story of Mu Xin and his incredible commitment to his artistic vision. Running Time: 35 Minutes • In Chinese with English Subtitles
Joanne Wang, the Associate Producer of the film and the literary agent of Mu Xin’s books, will give an introduction and the showing of the film will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

This program will be in English.

Free, but advance registration is required. Click here to register.