Word: chen
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Edward P. Chen ’01, entrepreneur, stock trader and an “ebullient” former Kirkland House resident died of a fall in California...
...Chen is one of China's few independent documentary filmmakers?and to get honest footage in a country that often treats truth as a state secret, the 33-year-old cameraman relies as much on stealth as stagecraft. For his 2002 documentary, To Live is Better Than To Die, a stark portrayal of a family destroyed by AIDS, he sneaked into the village of Wenlou in central Henan province dressed as a peasant, creeping through cornfields in the dead of night with his equipment stashed in a fertilizer bag. That was the only way he could elude police in order...
...films are banned on the mainland, they are being made. The state media is even unwittingly contributing to the growth of maverick documentaries. In recent years, unofficial Chinese films have been made about vagrant children, migrant workers, homosexuals and corrupt village officials. Many were produced by frustrated filmmakers like Chen, using technical savvy acquired while working for mainland media outlets, sometimes even with equipment borrowed from the state...
...Chen, though, the ordeal of making To Live is Better Than To Die paid off. He fell into the project while shooting a health show for Wuhan TV, when he met a doctor caring for AIDS victims. On the doctor's recommendation, Chen visited the Ma home in 2001. But before he had finished filming, police arrived and hauled Chen and other reporters down to the station, where they were held for nearly 24 hours. Chen gave his tiny digital video tapes to another reporter, who smuggled them out in hotel soapboxes she had in her purse...
...From the moment he had those tapes back in his hands, Chen says he felt determined to document the crisis in Wenlou. "The more trouble they gave me," he recalls, "the more I knew I couldn't let the project drop." Obstinacy has its rewards. In February, the documentary was screened at the U.S. Sundance Film Festival, where Chen received standing ovations and purchase offers from HBO. Despite the accolades, Chen fears the film may cost him his job. Just before he left town to attend the festival, he says he received a phone call from a local official telling...