Co-presented by Alula Film Festival and the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies.
Please join us for a rare screening of award-winning documentary filmmaker Jian Fan's film AFTER THE RAIN, featuring a post-screening dialogue between the filmmaker and UCLA film scholar Michael Berry.
Sunday, March 16, 2025
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Culver Theater
9500 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
After the Rain: Film Screening and Discussion with Jian Fan
March 16, 5:00PM
Culver Theater
9500 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
Purchase tickets here
About the film: After an earthquake razed a Chinese city to the ground in 2008, over 6,000 parents are encouraged to replace the children they lost and move on. Due to the One-Child Policy, most of these parents lost the only children they had. AFTER THE RAIN follows the two couples who become close friends through the shared experience of introducing new children into their shaken families. In 2017, parents Mei and Sheng live with their 6 year-old son Chuan, and a framed photo of their deceased little girl. Their friends Ying and Ping are raising their 11 year-old daughter Ran-ran, after Ying and Ping lost their first daughter. The parents’ search for the strength to raise these second children becomes complicated as Chuan and Ran-ran grow older and wiser. Haunted by fear, resentment, and unspeakable grief, the families find hope beyond intergenerational trauma to build towards an uncertain tomorrow.
About the director: Jian FAN is a documentary director who focuses on Chinese social issues through character-driven storytelling. He is a Documentary branch member of the Academy. Jian has directed six feature-length documentary films, most recently “Still Tomorrow,” winner of a Special Jury Award at IDFA 2016. His other films include “My Land” (Berlinale 2016; supported by Sundance Documentary Fund) and “The Next Life” (IDFA 2011; Jury Prize at Guangzhou Documentary Film Festival 2011). His work has also screened in competition at Hot Docs, Full Frame, Sheffield, Busan, and dozens of other film festivals around the world. Jian studied at the famed Beijing Film Academy and is now based in Chongqing, China.
Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies