“With all my heart I beseech and beg my two hundred million female compatriots to assume their responsibility as citizens. Arise! Arise! Chinese women, arise!” – Qiu Jin
Meet the “Chinese Joan of Arc” Qiu Jin (1875-1907), a radical women’s rights activist who defied tradition to become the leader of a revolutionary army. She attempted an armed uprising against the corrupt Qing Dynasty and became the first female martyr for China’s 1911 Revolution. Qiu Jin is celebrated as a national heroine today.
While Qiu Jin is a familiar figure in China, she is largely unknown outside of the country. AUTUMN GEM is the first documentary feature on Qiu Jin in the U.S. Using scholar interviews, archival materials, and dramatic recreation scenes based on her original writings, AUTUMN GEM brings the story of Qiu Jin to life.
The hour-long film was produced and directed by two San Francisco Bay Area Chinese American filmmakers, Rae Chang and Adam Tow. It has screened at over seventy venues worldwide, including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Princeton, Brown, University of Massachusetts Boston, Simon Fraser University, and Tribeca Film Center in New York.
The UBC Centre for Chinese Research and the UBC Department of Asian Studies will host a free screening at the Asian Centre Auditorium on Tuesday, March 1, 7:00pm. Filmmaker Rae Chang will attend the screening and participate in a Q-and-A session afterwards.
Electronic Press Kit: http://autumn-gem.com/press-kit/
