Dear Zhenying:

Please join the USC U.S.-China Institute for the screening of Nirvana（走出尘埃）. The screening（Chinese with English subtitles）will be followed by a discussion with director Xie Xiao-dong.

Screening - Nirvana 走出尘埃

Date：Thursday, February 2, 2017, 4-6:30pm 

Location：Wallis Annenberg Hall, ANN 106（aka "New Annenberg building"） 

Cost：Free, please register here

 Cast: Qin Yong 秦勇, Feng Bo 冯波

Director, producer：Xie Xiao-dong 谢晓东

113 minutes

FANG He-ping was a rock singer when he was young twenty years ago. He is now working as a driver for hire working at night. He is busy in daily life just like any middle age man, a dust on the earth. All his dreams have long gone. His life was broken into pieces by an unexpected incident. In order to open a restaurant, FANG mortgaged his house to successfully borrowed a loan from the pawn line, and it was seemed that everything went well. By accident, he suddenly find that a singing competition, who is the hero. His previous band mate Da-yong was the judge of this competition, and a player HUANG Yi-bing sings amazing, attracting his attention, but the guitar level is far from satisfactory. Da-yong and He-ping happened to meet, they drank together and recalling the past time. In the conversation, Da-yong advised him to come his program as a judge, even though FANG He-ping refused, this suggestion still left a slight impression in his heart. However, something terrible occurred, He-ping was dropped into despair. He has no choice but trying to go back on stage again.（SIFF Catalogue 2016）

The film will be in Chinese with English subtitles 

Upcoming USCI Events 

The Perfect Dictatorship：China in the 21st Century

Date：Thursday, March 2, 2017, 4:00-5:30pm

Location：USC Campus, TBD

Cost：Free, please register here.

Stein Ringen's new book, The Perfect Dictatorship：China in the 21st Century, examines how China's distinctive governmental system works and where it may be moving. Ringen argues that Xi Jinping's party-state is much more demanding than Deng Xiaoping's and that China's economy is more fragile and its political system more dictatorial than most in the outside world believe. Ringen will discuss the intentions and priorities of party-state leaders, Xi Jinping's methods and aims, and how the economy works and its prospects. How pragmatic and how ideological are China's leaders? How is control exerted?

Hollywood Made in China

Date：Thursday, March 9, 2017, 4:00-5:30pm

Location：USC Campus, TBD

Cost：Free, please register here.

China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 ignited a race to capture new global media audiences. Hollywood moguls began courting Chinese investors to create entertainment on an international scale-from behemoth theme parks to blockbuster films. Hollywood Made in China examines these new collaborations, where the distinctions between Hollywood's "dream factory" and the PRC's "Chinese dream" of global influence become increasingly blurred. With insightful policy analysis, ethnographic research, and interviews with CEOs, directors, and film workers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Los Angeles, Aynne Kokas offers an unflinching look at China's new role in the global media industries. A window into the partnerships with Chinese corporations that now shape Hollywood, this book will captivate anyone who consumes commercial media in the twenty-first century.