The USC U.S.-China Institute, USC Pacific Asia Museum, and USC Shoah Foundation present a screening of the film Above the Drowning Sea, the story of the dramatic escape of European Jews from Nazi-controlled Europe to Shanghai on the eve of World War Two. The screening will be followed by a panel conversation.   Screening：Above The Drowning Sea Date：Thursday, October 5, 2017 Time：6:00-8:30pm Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall Auditorium, ANN L105A Free, please RSVP here.   About the Film Above the Drowning Sea tells the story of the dramatic escape of European Jews from Nazi-controlled Europe to Shanghai on the eve of World War Two. As Hitler's forces sought to expel the Jews from Europe, no other country would open its doors to the refugees. Their lives at stake, the refugees desperately looked for an escape from the coming Holocaust. Then, a door opened on the east coast of far-away China, in Shanghai, an "open city" itself in chaos from foreign invasion and civil war. But getting there required a "golden" document to get out of Nazi Europe - a visa from China. Above the Drowning Sea recounts the courageous intervention of Ho Feng Shan, the Chinese Consul in Vienna who defied his own government and braved the Gestapo to issue visas to the refugees. Jewish refugees and the Chinese residents of Shanghai who helped them survive in China recount their experiences, terrors and deprivations as well as the remarkable friendships forged across cultures, friendships that survive to this day. Shot in six countries over four continents, Above the Drowning Sea takes you on an inspiring emotional journey across time and across the world. Truly a story that could have been ripped from today's headlines, the film vividly celebrates the heroism and humanity of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. Watch the trailer. About the Panelists René Balcer, Director, Above the Drowning Sea Balcer is well known as the showrunner, head writer and executive producer of the iconic television series Law & Order. He has won an Emmy, the Peabody Award, a Writers Guild of America Award and four Edgar Awards for his television work. René has also written and produced award-winning documentaries on art and China. Clayton Dube, Director, USC U.S.-China Institute Dube has headed the institute since it was established by USC President C.L. Nikias in 2006 to focus on the multidimensional U.S.-China relationship. Dube has produced two documentary films and consulted on several others. He headed the team producing the twelve-part  Assignment：China documentary series on American media coverage of China since the 1940s. Kori Street, Director of Education, USC Shoah Foundation Dr. Street came to the Institute in 2011 from Mount Royal University, where she was an Associate Professor and served as Chair of Entrepreneurship, Nonprofit Studies, International Business and Aviation in the Bissett School of Business. After completing a Masters in the History of Education and Gender/Feminism at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto, Dr. Street received her PhD in history from the University of Victoria in 2001. Keith Eisner, Son of Jewish refugee to China Eisner graduated from Penn State Law School in 1993. After many years at a high profile law firm, he became a television producer and writer, best known for his work on The Good Wife, NYPD Blue and Law & Order.   Dear Zhenying:    The USC U.S.-China Institute presents a talk by Lenora Chu, whose new book explores what takes place behind closed classroom doors in China's education system. Chu's eye-opening investigation challenges assumptions and considers the true value and purpose of education.   Little Soldiers：An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve Date：Wednesday, October 4, 2017 Time：4:00-5:30pm  Location: Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, ASC 204 Free, please RSVP here.      About the Book In the spirit of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Bringing up Bébé, and The Smartest Kids in the World, a hard-hitting exploration of China's widely acclaimed yet insular education system-held up as a model of academic and behavioral excellence-that raises important questions for the future of American parenting and education.   When students in Shanghai rose to the top of international rankings in 2009, Americans feared that they were being "out-educated" by the rising super power. An American journalist of Chinese descent raising a young family in Shanghai, Lenora Chu noticed how well-behaved Chinese children were compared to her boisterous toddler. How did the Chinese create their academic super-achievers? Would their little boy benefit from Chinese school?   Chu and her husband decided to enroll three-year-old Rainer in China's state-run public school system. The results were positive-her son quickly settled down, became fluent in Mandarin, and enjoyed his friends-but she also began to notice troubling new behaviors. Wondering what was happening behind closed classroom doors, she embarked on an exploratory journey, interviewing Chinese parents, teachers and education professors, and following students at all stages of their education.   What she discovered is a military-like education system driven by high-stakes testing, with teachers posting rankings in public, using bribes to reward students who comply, and shaming to isolate those who do not. At the same time, she uncovered a years-long desire by government to alleviate its students' crushing academic burden and make education friendlier for all. The more she learns, the more she wonders：Are Chinese children-and her son-paying too high a price for their obedience and the promise of future academic prowess? Is there a way to appropriate the excellence of the system but dispense with the bad? What, if anything, could Westerners learn from China's education journey?   Chu's eye-opening investigation challenges our assumptions and asks us to consider the true value and purpose of education.   About the Author  Lenora Chu is an American writer and journalist with degrees from Stanford and Columbia. A former contributing writer for CNNMoney.com and a broadcast correspondent with Thomson Reuters, she began her journalism career as a political reporter in the United States. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Science, the Christian Science Monitor, and on various NPR shows, including Marketplace and PRI's The World.   Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.      USC U.S.-China Institute, University of Southern California 3502 Watt Way, ASC G24, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281