Stories from Inside China: A Documentary Film Screening with Director Carol Liu

Screening of "Restoring the Light" followed by discussion of the making of the film by filmmaker and alumna, Carol Liu '05 AND special guest lecture by Prof. Scott Rozelle, Executive Director of Stanford's Rural Education Action Project.

 

Restoring the Light has earned nominations for Best Documentary Feature at the Hawaii International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The film has been presented at the United States Embassy in China, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese Ministry of Health. 

Restoring the Light is an exploration of the power of human resilience and compassion in a Chinese countryside fraught with social and economic change. According to the Chinese, to “restore sight” means to “restore light.” A local doctor pours his life savings into a non-profit mobile eye clinic, which benefits several families in the surrounding countryside. A blind grandmother and her disabled village granddaughter brave the odds to send the girl to university. A young boy gets a chance to go to school with his sister and aspires to become a truck driver, even though he can't see. 

Carol Liu is an independent filmmaker and story developer. While at Stanford, she majored in English (Creative Writing) and later attended NYU's Graduate film program. Her feature, Restoring the Light, was presented at the US Embassy in China and nominated for Best Documentary jury awards at the Hawaii International and LA Asian Pacific film festivals. Carol is currently planning her next film while expanding the use of story development techniques into other fields. 

Scott Rozelle is the Helen Farnsworth Senior Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. His research focuses almost exclusively on China and is concerned with agricultural policy, rural resources, and the economics of poverty. Professor Rozelle is the co-director of the Rural Education Action Project (REAP), a set of studies that seek to evaluate China's new education and health programs and have an impact on policy. He is fluent in Chinese and has established a research program in which he has close working ties with several Chinese collaborators and policy makers.

View the trailer here: http://www.carolliufilms.com/restoringthelightfilm

 

Doors open at 6:00, program begins at 6:45.   Light refreshments will be served.