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<\/a>\uff08Photo by: Richard Ren\/LAPost)<\/p><\/div>\n
The screening served not only as a showcase of Chinese cinema, but also as a fundraising event supporting the educational and cultural mission of the CSUN China Institute. Through education, academic research and community engagement, the institute promotes the study and understanding of Chinese history, culture, language and traditions while fostering cross-cultural understanding, mutual respect and international cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n Set in a rural Tibetan community, The Story of Luosang<\/em> follows a grandfather seeking justice after his young granddaughter is seriously injured in a tractor accident. Through the family\u2019s struggle, the 94-minute film explores responsibility, compassion, forgiveness and justice.<\/span><\/p>\n The film has received international recognition, including honors and nominations at the 2022 All Asia Independent Film Festival and the 2024 New Zealand Asia Pacific Film Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n \uff08Photo by: Richard Ren\/LAPost)<\/p><\/div>\n Lu Wei is regarded as one of China\u2019s most influential screenwriters, with credits including internationally acclaimed films such as Farewell My Concubine<\/em>, To Live<\/em> and Tuya\u2019s Marriage<\/em>. Farewell My Concubine<\/em> won the Palme d\u2019Or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n \uff08Photo by: Richard Ren\/LAPost)<\/p><\/div>\n The post-screening discussion was moderated by Professor Su Zhixin, a former director of the CSUN China Institute.<\/span><\/p>\n Audience members asked Lu about the casting process, the locations, the film\u2019s realism, the tension between law and personal relationships, and his approach to screenwriting.<\/span><\/p>\n Lu explained that most of the cast members were not professional actors but local residents. One of the principal performers is a middle-school teacher, while the actress playing the female lead is a Tibetan nurse. Several other performers were local herders.<\/span><\/p>\n The production team spent considerable time in the region before filming, surveying different locations and observing local life in order to find settings that would authentically serve the story.<\/span><\/p>\n Lu also revealed that the film was based on a true story. The director had previously made a documentary about the real events before developing the material into a feature film.<\/span><\/p>\n \uff08Photo by: Richard Ren\/LAPost)<\/p><\/div>\n For one audience member who had previously lived in a similar region of western China, the film\u2019s greatest strength was its authenticity.<\/span><\/p>\n She said the movie felt deeply familiar because of its portrayal of rural life and the people living through a period of social change. Although the story is set in a Tibetan community, she argued, its themes extend far beyond one particular region and reflect experiences shared by many rural communities across China.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the most substantive discussions centered on the film\u2019s treatment of law, family and personal relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n In the story, the conflict could seemingly be resolved through the legal system. Yet the film ultimately focuses on communication, family relationships and human emotion rather than offering a simple legal resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n Asked whether the film was intended to tell audiences what was right or wrong, Lu said he preferred to leave that judgment to the viewers.<\/span><\/p>\n Each character, he explained, has his or her own logic, circumstances and choices. Luosang wants to pursue legal action, while his son, daughter-in-law and other family members hold different views.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEveryone makes different choices,\u201d<\/strong> Lu said.<\/span><\/p>\n For him, the role of the screenwriter is not necessarily to impose a single moral answer, but to present the characters and their circumstances honestly and allow audiences to reach their own conclusions.<\/span><\/p>\n He emphasized that the filmmakers remained relatively faithful to the original true story, while maintaining a clear sense of the values they wanted to explore.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf audiences can understand the film and if they like it,\u201d he said, \u201cthen I think our original intention has been achieved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The film\u2019s extensive use of Tibetan language also prompted a question about whether linguistic differences could create barriers for audiences unfamiliar with the region.<\/span><\/p>\n Lu said he had longstanding relationships with Tibetan friends and was familiar with aspects of the language and speech patterns represented in the film. He also noted that the Tibetan spoken in the film is primarily Amdo Tibetan, which differs from the language commonly associated with Lhasa.<\/span><\/p>\n While language barriers remain, he said, subtitles, translation and modern technology have made it increasingly possible for audiences to cross linguistic and cultural boundaries.<\/span><\/p>\n Near the end of the discussion, an aspiring writer asked Lu how ordinary people can determine whether their own stories are worth telling\u2014and how a seemingly simple story can be transformed into something meaningful.<\/span><\/p>\n Lu offered a characteristically concise answer.<\/span><\/p>\n A writer, he said, can know what he or she wants to write and understand their own choices, but cannot predict how other people will judge or interpret the work.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know my own choices. I don\u2019t know other people\u2019s choices.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n His advice was simple:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen just write it.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Only after a story has been written, he suggested, can other people decide whether it has value.<\/span><\/p>\n The exchange reflected one of the central ideas behind The Story of Luosang<\/em>: rather than providing audiences with a predetermined answer, the film places its characters, conflicts and choices on the screen and allows viewers to interpret them through their own experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n \uff08Photo by: Richard Ren\/LAPost)<\/p><\/div>\n The event received strong support from SurfaceOne Inc., Magic Zebra International Inc., UCA, Wheeler & Bi CPA, Delight Funding and Media, DG Investment, attorney Kathy Hao, Leo Chu and Ivy Chu, Judy Zhu, Janice Chen, and Thalia Sun<\/strong>, among other sponsors and individual supporters.<\/span><\/p>\n Since its establishment in 1982, the CSUN China Institute has developed long-term partnerships with nearly 100 leading universities in China, hosted more than 1,000 visiting scholars, and supported hundreds of American students in studying, exchanging and traveling in China.<\/span><\/p>\n Over the years, the institute has built a broad network of cooperation encompassing student and faculty exchanges, arts programs, educational training and cultural exchanges.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cThe Most Important Quality Is Its Authenticity\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a>Leaving the Choice to the Audience<\/span><\/h3>\n
Language, Technology and the Distance Between Cultures<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u201cThen Just Write It\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n
Continuing CSUN China Institute\u2019s Mission Through Film<\/span><\/h3>\n
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