SHORT
GRAND PRIX COMPETITION
CHINA
A NEW OLD EMPIRE FROM IN AND OUT
THE
BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
USA/CHINA,
2006, 39 min., Chinese, English
Director:
Ruby Yang
Producer: Thomas Lennon
Cinematography: Jiangtao QU
Editing: Ruby Yang, Manchung
Ma
Music: Brian Keane
Sound: James Lebrecht, Patti
Tauscher
Production company: The China
AIDS Media Project (Thomas Lennon Films, Inc.)
Print Source:
Thomas Lennon, Thomas Lennon Films Inc.
c/o Sesame Workshop
One Lincoln Plaza 2nd Floor
New York NY 10023
USA
Tel.: +1 212 875 6181
Fax: +1 212 785 7380
e-mail: tl@thomaslennonfilms.com
www.chinaaidsmedia.com
The Blood of Yingzhou District
No one knows how old Gao Jun
is. The youngster hasn’t said a word since his parents
died of AIDS and now his family doesn’t know what to
do with him. HIV positive, the little boy has been so ostracized
by his village that even his uncles don’t want to take
him in or allow him to play with his cousins. AIDS is an all
too familiar aspect of everyday life for the village where
Gao Jun lives. Many of the impoverished peasants who call
it home became infected from unsafe practices related to blood
selling – the only means of income many of them have.
The disturbing result is a village populated by orphans with
no where to go and no one to care for them. This sharp and
perceptive doc chronicles a year in the life of the orphans
in the Yingzhou District, all victims of social stigma and
a government that fails to educate it’s inhabitants.
This beautifully shot, sensitive portrayal of a hidden AIDS
epidemic in a country not commonly associated with the disease
follows Gao Jun as he searches for a place to call home in
a community that has all but forgotten about him.
 Ruby
Yang was born in Hong Kong and moved to San Francisco
in 1977. She graduated from San Francisco Art Institute (BFA
in painting, 1979; MFA in film, 1982). She has explored a
range of Chinese themes through documentary and television.
Yang widely worked as an editor, serving also as editor for
Bill Moyers’ PBS series Becoming American –The
Chinese Experience. The Oscar-winning director is now based
in Beijing, directing public announcements and a wide range
of documentary work as part of the China AIDS Media Project
in collaboration with filmmaker Thomas Lennon.
Filmography
(selected, as a director):
The
Blood of Yingzhou District (2006), the Academy award
for the Best Short Documentary;
Julia’s Story (2005);
China 21 (2001);
Silicon Valley (2000);
Citizen Hong Kong (1999).
SATURDAY, MARCH 31 AT 6:45 PM./GALLERY
THEATRE 
SCREENING
WITH RETURN TO
THE BORDER
MONDAY,
APRIL 2 AT 6:00 PM./THE WILMETTE THEATRE
SCREENING
WITH RETURN TO
THE BORDER
WEDNESDAY,
APRIL 4 AT 5:00 PM./CHOPIN THEATRE
SCREENING
WITH RETURN TO
THE BORDER
FRIDAY,
APRIL 6 AT 9:00 PM./DOC FILMS
SCREENING
WITH RETURN MY HUSBAND ANDREI
SAKHAROW
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