Zhang Bingjian, Director, Readymade: A Documentary about Mao Impersonators (2008)

Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies hosts Zhang Bingjian. His documentary will be shown as part of the Emergent Vision film screening series.

Readymade: A Documentary about Mao Impersonators
Director Zhang Bingjian

The film screening will be followed by a discussion with Zhang Bingjian.

The film is in Chinese with English subtitles

Although Chairman Mao died 35 years ago, he lives on in the form of his impersonators. This documentary is about two ordinary middle-aged individuals who make a career out of their physical likeness to Mao. The first, a farmer from Mao’s hometown studies at the Beijing Film Academy with his family’s support and the dream of playing Mao on the big screen. The second, a housewife struggles to overcome her husband’s aversion toward her new career. Through their lives and performances, the film presents trenchant insights into the legacy of the “Great Helmsman” in today’s China.

Born in Shanghai, Zhang Bingjian graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 and received an MFA degree from the University of South Carolina in 1993.  He directed a feature film Suffocation in 2004 that starred the well-known actor Ge You and was the first Chinese psychic film to be released nationwide. It was also screened at international film festivals worldwide. Readymade is his first documentary.

Emergent Visions presents screenings of exceptional independent documentary films produced in China and Taiwan, followed by scholarly discussions led by faculty and students. The films selected range from the just released to classics and evince distinct, compelling cinematic visions; yet they all share a commitment to serving as witness to the rapid changes taking place in China today.