This talk uses the Dutch documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens’ (1898-1989) "love letter to China," his 1988 film Une Histoire de vent (A Tale of the Wind) as a case study to explore the profound connection between fiction and documentary, between biography and history, and between private life and collective experience. Ivens’ use of dream sequences, personal memories, and characters from Chinese legend, fiction, and film in his last documentary film shot on location in China, speak volumes about the importance of the twin foci of dream and the everyday in forging social documentaries through fictional representations.

Zoom webinar registration at: https://myumi.ch/RWQ3W

Liang Luo is a professor of Chinese studies at the University of Kentucky and a distinguished visiting professor at Tianjin Normal University. She is the author of "The Global White Snake" (Michigan 2021) and "The Avant-Garde and the Popular in Modern China" (Michigan 2014). She is working on a new book and documentary project, tentatively titled “Profound Propaganda: The International Avant-Garde and Modern China.”