Overview

This volume offers the first comprehensive survey of the cinema of Evans Chan, a New York-based playwright, author, and filmmaker whose acclaimed films include To Liv(e), The Map of Sex and Love, and Datong. In this collection of essays on Chan's documentary and feature films seven experts on cultural and film studies examine the unique blending of fictional representation, historical investigation, and critical essayism that characterize Chan's oeuvre. They discuss how Chan's work brings out the contradictory nature of the distant and recent past through his exploration of Hong Kong's rapid transformation before and after reunification with China in 1997. The volume concludes with an interview with Evans Chan on his work to date and includes two DVDs containing five of his most important films. The book will appeal to scholars and students who are interested in China and Hong Kong cinema, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, and diaspora studies.

Full Product Details

Author:   Tony Williams
Publisher:   Hong Kong University Press
Imprint:   Hong Kong University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.470kg
ISBN:  

9789888208166

ISBN 10:   9888208160
Pages:   200
Publication Date:   19 February 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

List of Contributors List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Introduction to the Work of Evans Chan, by Tony Williams 2. The Film Essay and Political Discourse in Evans Chan's To Liv(e), by Amy Lee 3. Crossings: A Transnational Cinematic Text, by Tony Williams 4. Homelessness and Self-Disclosure: Evans Chan's Minor Cinema, by Hector Rodriguez 5. Absurd Connections, or Cosmopolitan Conviviality in The Map of Sex and Love, by Kenneth Chan 6. Issues of Decolonization: Two Essay Documentaries by Evans Chan, by Tony Williams 7. Brecht in Hong Kong: Evans Chan's The Life and Times of Wu Zhong Xian, by Gina Marchetti 8. Sound and Vision: The Artistry of Margaret Leng Tan and Evans Chan in Sorceress of the New Piano, Makrokosmos I & II, and The Maverick Piano, by Michael Ingham 9. Global Aches: Teaching Evans Chan's Bauhinia, by Stacilee Ford 10. An Interview with Evans Chan, by Tony Williams Filmography Selected Bibliography Index

Reviews

Covering a broad range of topics and issues that shed light on the aesthetic, sociopolitical and intellectual dimensions of Chan's work, the individual chapters contribute to a collective reflection on the formal qualities of Chan's cinematic art, in particular his creative use of the film essay as a mode of artistic expression. The essays have sought out the latent aesthetic and intellectual impulses that inform Chan's cinematic vision. -- Vivian Lee, author of <i>Hong Kong Cinema Since 1997: The Post-Nostalgic Imagination</i> This fascinating anthology is a much-needed examination of Chan's eminent yet underappreciated cinema. The volume illuminates his filmmaking from a number of angles, enriching our understanding of his complex engagement with Chinese politics, history, and the essay film. Capped by a comprehensive interview with Chan himself, this indispensable volume does full justice to one of Hong Kong's most literate and literary filmmakers. -- Gary Bettinson, author of <i>The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai</i> and editor of the journal <i>Asian Cinema</i>

Covering a broad range of topics and issues that shed light on the aesthetic, sociopolitical and intellectual dimensions of Chan's work, the individual chapters contribute to a collective reflection on the formal qualities of Chan's cinematic art, in particular his creative use of the film essay as a mode of artistic expression. The essays have sought out the latent aesthetic and intellectual impulses that inform Chan's cinematic vision. -- Vivian Lee, author of Hong Kong Cinema Since 1997: The Post-Nostalgic Imagination This fascinating anthology is a much-needed examination of Chan's eminent yet underappreciated cinema. The volume illuminates his filmmaking from a number of angles, enriching our understanding of his complex engagement with Chinese politics, history, and the essay film. Capped by a comprehensive interview with Chan himself, this indispensable volume does full justice to one of Hong Kong's most literate and literary filmmakers. -- Gary Bettinson, author of The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai and editor of the journal Asian Cinema

Author Information

Tony Williams is a professor and area head of film studies in the Department of English, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is the author of John Woo's Bullet in the Head (2009) and editor of George A. Romero: Interviews (2011).

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions