East Asia

Sun Mu: From North Korean Propagandist to Pop Art Defector

By Heenali Patel On Friday 20 November, the Frontline Club hosted a premiere screening of the documentary I Am Sun Mu, a remarkable insight into the life and work of North Korean defector and political pop artist Sun Mu. The film follows Sun Mu as he prepares for his first solo exhibition in Beijing in […]

Al Jazeera Preview Screening: Chinese Dreamland + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director David Borenstein.

The “Exotic Flavour Talent Agency” can turn a rural Chinese ghost town into a booming world-class city for the afternoon. Company CEO Suky and his assistant Yana organise attention-grabbing performances and talent shows in cooperation with property developers and local government officials to make real estate more appealing to potential buyers. In Chinese Dreamland, the success of Suky and Yana’s foreigner-focused talent agency is tied to questions concerning racial diversity and globalisation, as well as the sustainability of China’s rapid urban development.

Screening: Nowhere to Call Home + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Jocelyn Ford.

Nowhere To Call Home tells the powerful story of Zanta, a Tibetan woman who moves to Beijing against the wishes of her in-laws so that her young son can receive an education. Widowed at 28, Tibetan farmer Zanta defies her tyrannical father-in-law and after her husband’s death refuses to marry the family’s only surviving son. When Zanta’s in-laws won’t let her seven-year-old child go to school, she flees her village and heads to Beijing where she becomes a street vendor.

America’s Shifting Foreign Policy

As Barack Obama enters the second year of his second and final term in office, he faces considerable foreign policy challenges. Join us as we dissect Obama’s foreign policy ambitions, exploring the shifts in focus and how they are playing out. Will he achieve his second term goals? Can he successfully pull focus to Asia or will the conflict in Syria direct attention back to the Middle East?