Of Color and Ink: Chang Dai-Chien's Life After 1949 萬里千尋

This event is presented by SFU's David Lam Centre.

“Of Color and Ink”is an extraordinary documentary film which discovers the unknown exile journey of a global artist, Chang Dai-chien(1899-1983), China’s foremost 20th-century painterof the 20th century, often compared with Picasso. His paintings outsell Van Gogh (CNN) and he has held the record as the best-selling artist at auction (New York Times). In its review of “Of Color and Ink”(South China Morning Post) stated, 'After one of China’s most famous 20th-century artists left his homeland, his life was a mystery. Until now".

This is the first film to document Chang’s 30-year exile in South America, Europe and the United States and is the result of a 12-year journey by Chinese-American director Weimin Zhang who sought to unravel the mysteries and controversies surrounding Chang's artistic and spiritual quest as he journeyed from East to West. The film makes a case for his strong influence on Western art, showing that his work formed a bridge not only between China’s past and present, but also between Eastern and Western aesthetic ideas. The film delves into his extraordinary life in exile and highlights his mission within the global art world.

Through innovative techniques and visual styles, “Of Color and Ink”offers an illuminating, revelatory and entertaining exploration of one of the most influential – and least known - giants of 20thcentury art.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Weimin Zhang is an award-winning filmmaker, cinematographer and professor of Cinema at San Francisco State University. As one of China’s Sixth Generation filmmakers, she graduated from Beijing Film Academy and then received her MFA in Film Production in the U.S. She has worked on numerous award-winning films, documentaries, and TV drama series as a director, cinematographer, and editor in both China and the U.S. Her film, The House of Spirit (2000), won the Women in Film Award and was also featured in over a dozen film festivals. In 2008, as a U.S. unit director, she filmed U.S. Olympic athletes preparing for and competing in the Olympics for The Ever-Lasting Flame – Beijing 2008; the documentary won the Grand Jury Prize at 2009 Montreal Film Festival. She also directed the feature documentary Missing Home: The Last Days of Beijing Hutongs which was presented at more than a dozen international film festivals. Weimin just completed an award-winning feature documentary film Of Color and Ink. This film was a 12-year journeyto accomplish. The film unravels the mystery and controversy of the foremost Chinese artist, Chang Dai-chien’s creative and spiritual quest abroad and his journey from East to West to become an artist of global significance.

AWARDS

· Best International Documentary Feature: 47th São Paulo International Film Festival

· Best Feature Documentary film: Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival

· Best Feature Documentary film:2024 CineQuest Film Festival

· Official Selection: Buenos Aires International Festival

· Official Selection: MontelupoFiorentino International Independent Film Festival

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16022830/

Website: https://www.changdaichienfilm.com/